JM.li-JAN: 2.5, 1897 




GacsKi.cgca^^JscLES KotaaasK 



jini±^i!h-£naiiA7it»s^ siUtrNiis, 



ii 

MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 






LIFE AND CHARACTER 



Charles Frederick Crisp 



(Late a Representative fkom Georgia), 



DELIVERED IN THE 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE, 



Fifty-fourth Congress, Second Session. 



PUBLISHED BY URDEK OF CONGRESS 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1897. 



} 



5 -APRl 3 

Copy 






,1 



CONTENTS. 



Page, 

Proceedings in the House 5 

Memorial addresses by— 

Mr. Henry G. Turner, of Georgia 8 

Mr. David Bremner Henderson, of Iowa lo 

Mr. Thomas Clendinen Catchings, of Mississippi. 12 

Mr. John Dalzell, of Pennsylvania 24 

Mr. James Daniel Richardson, of Tennessee 28 

Mr. John W. Maddox, of Georgia 35 

Mr. Benton McMillin, of Tennessee 40 

Mr. Amos J. Cummings, of New York 44 

Mr. BiNGER Hermann, of Oregon 49 

Mr. Nelson Dingley, Jr. , of Maine 53 

Mr. David A. De Armond, of Missouri 57 

Mr. Hugh Anderson Dinsmore, of Arkansas 63 

Mr. Charles F. Buck, of Louisiana 68 

Mr. Charles M. Cooper, of Florida 74 

Mr. Claude A. Swanson, of Virginia 77 

Mr. John Fletcher Lacey, of Iowa 80 

Mr. John C. Bell, of Colorado • 86 

Mr. Joseph Wheeler, of Alabama 89 

Mr. Fred A. Woodard, of North Carolina gr 

Mr. Fernando C. Layton, of Ohio 95 

Mr. John H. B." nkhead, of Alabama 99 

Mr. John Loundes McLaurin, of South Carolina. . . 103 

Mr. Jamks B. McCreaky, of Kentucky 108 

3 



J 



4 Contents. 

Proceedings in the House — Continued. Page. 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. George L. Wellington, of Maryland 112 

Mr. Parish Carter Tate, of Georgia 117 

Mr. Leonid.\s F. Livingston, of Georgia 124 

Mr. Thomas G. Lawson, of Georgia 127 

Mr. Elijah Adams Morse, of Massachusetts 133 

Mr. Henry St. George Tucker, of Virginia 137 

Mr. Warren Brewster Hooker, of New York. ... 141 

Mr. Ch.\rles L. Baktlett, of Georgia 143 

Proceedings in the Sen.\te 161 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. John B. Gordon, of Georgia 164 

Mr. J.\COB H. Gallinger, of New Hampshire 169 

Mr. Arthur P. Gorman, of Maryland 171 

Mr. James H. Berry, of Arkansas 176 

Mr. Roger Q. Mills, of Texas 180 

Mr. Thomas Henry Carter, of Montana 184 

Mr. John Warwick Daniel, of Virginia 186 

Mr. Augustus Octavius B.a.con, of Georgia 192 



Death of Charles Frederick Crisp, 



Proceedings in the House. 

December 7, 1896. 

Mr. Turner, of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is my painful 
duty to have to announce to the House the untimely death 
of my colleague Charles Frederick Crisp, late a mem- 
ber of this body, which occurred in the city of Atlanta, 
Ga., on the 23d day of October last. 

At some later day in the session I will ask the House 
to appoint a time when his friends here may pay fitting 
tribute to his distinguished character and to his eminent 
public services. At the present time I offer the following 
resolutions for immediate consideration. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow 
of the death of Hon. Charles Frederick Crisp, late a Rep- 
resentati\e from the State of Georgia. 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to his memory the 
House do now adjourn. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to 
the Senate. 

The resolutions were agreed to; and accordingly the 
House (at 3 o'clock and 45 minutes p. m.) adjourned until 
12 o'clock to-morrow (Tuesday). 



rr 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 

January i6, 1897. 
The Speaker. The Clerk will report the special order. 
The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That Saturday, January 16, 1S97, beginning at i 
o'clock p. m., be set apart for paying a tribute to the memory 
of the Hon. Charles F. Crisp, late a member of the House of 
Representatives from the State of Georgia. 

Mr. Turner, of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I offer the reso- 
lutions which I send to the Clerk's desk. 

The Spe.'VKER. The gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Turner] 
offers the following resolutions, which will be reported by 
the Clerk of the House. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended, 
that opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of 
Hon. Charles F. Crisp, late a Representative from the State 
of Georgia. 

Resolved, That as a mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased, and in recognition of his eminent abilities as a distin- 
guished public servant, the House, at the conclusion of these 
memorial proceedings, shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to 
the Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be instructed to communicate a 
copy of the.se re.solutions to the family of the deceased. 

7 



lO Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Henderson. 

Mr. Henderson. Mr. Speaker, a sad duty engages our 
attention to-day. We are here to review the life, seriaces, 
and character of our distinguished colleague and ex- 
Speaker of this House, Charles Frederick Crisp. 

To his own delegation will be assigned the sacred duty 
of pointing out historically the leading actions of his life. 
I will briefly consider Mr. Crisp from the standpoint of 
my personal acquaintance and relationship with him as a 
member of this body. 

This House presents in a marked degree evidence of 
the great law of change affecting all the relations of life. 
Mr. Crisp commenced his service as a member of this 
body in the Forty-eighth Congress. When he died there 
were only twelve members in the Fifty-fourth Congress 
who had served continuously with him from the time he 
entered Congress, and twenty in the same Congress who 
served with him in the Forty-eighth. He was one of 
seven elected to the Fifty-fourth Congress who were 
removed by death. These facts suggest the uncertainty of 
all life's positions and of life itself. 

My relations with ;\Ir. Crisp have been somewhat singu- 
lar. He was the first member of Congress with whom 
I held heated debate, and I believe I was the last with 
whom he had debate developing some of the feelings so 
often incident to our legislative life, but leaving no scar. 
Our relations always, saving our first experience, were of 
the most friendly character, and our first sharp encounter 
taught us, I believe, to respect each other. 

Though never intimate with Mr. Crisp in that sense 



Address of Mr. Henderson. 1 1 

which means comradeship, so necessary to my life, we were 
always good friends, enjoying thoroughly cordial relations 
and mutual respect. I soon learned that his word once 
given to me was sacredh' kept. 

He was a man of high honor, and self-respect was a 
dominating element in his character. 

He was truly a strong, deep, and earnest character. He 
was never a trifler. 

He was kind and gentle in his manner, so nmcli so in 
ordinar}' relations that one often wondered at the high and 
intense feeling which at times he was capable of swiftly 
reaching. 

Some are constituted so as to move through life on a 
dead, cold level; others sound all the notes of life, reveling 
in its sunlight, suffering in its shadows. The irreatest 
lives know both storm and rest. The Pacific Ocean can 
woo to its waters, but can drive in terror to its shores. 

These thoughts come from a study of Mr. Crlsp in 
my fourteen years' relationship with him on this floor. 
He had in his nature the sunlight and the shadow, the 
tempest and the calm. 

Entering the Confederate Army as a mere boy of about 
i6, he soon learned how very serious a matter life was. It 
tempered the good metal until it was capable of great 
work, and the boy without a boyhood was soon a powerful 
and aggressive man. His strength and ability invited the 
confidence of the people, who soon elevated him, step after 
step, until, in this body, he reached a position of power 
second only to that of the Chief Executive. 

When death took him, he had not yet attained the fullest 
stature of his mind. 

The great Georgian sleeps — after a hard, active, tireless 
summer's work and before the autumn's harvest had come. 



12 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. CATCHINGS. 

Mr. Catchings. Mr. Speaker, it lias long been a custom 
with the House of Representatives, upon the death of one 
of its members, to set apart a day upon which addresses may 
be delivered for the purpose of placing upon its records in 
suitable form evidence of the esteem in which he was held. 
It is exceedingly difficult to prepare remarks for such pur- 
pose which shall be in all particulars appropriate. We are 
prone to indulge in fulsome eulogy, or, in the effort to 
avoid that, to fall short of paying just tribute. On this 
occasion, to me the task is peculiarly trying. The rela- 
tions between Charles Frederick Crisp and myself 
were so intimate, my affection for him was so great, and 
my estimate of his character and abilities so high, that 
I shrink from speaking of him as they would naturally 
prompt me to do. The strong qualities which enabled him 
to grasp and retain the unchallenged leadership of his party 
in the House of Representatives, and which twice gave him 
its Speakership, manifested themselves in his boyhood, and 
steadily grew in potency and brilliancy up to the very hour 
of his death. He entered the Confederate Army when a 
slender lad but i6 years of age. Notwithstanding his 
extreme youth, he was soon elected to a lieutenancy of his 
company. Had he not been made a prisoner of war in 
May, 1864, and confined as such until hostilities had ended, 
there can be little doubt that he would have earned and 
achieved still higher and more responsible rank. Within 
five years from his admission to the bar he was appointed 
solicitor-general for one of the judicial circuits of his State, 
and in 1873 was reappointed for a term of four years. 



Address of Mr. Cat citings. 13 

His advancement in his profession was so rapid that in 
1877 he was appointed judge of the superior court of the 
same circuit, and he was afterwards twice elected to that 
office. In 1882 he was elected a Representative in Con- 
gress, and was six times successively reelected. Almost 
from the day of his entrance into the House of Represent- 
atives he was recognized as one of its foremost members. 
In the Fort}--ninth Congress, as a member of the Committee 
on Commerce, in the absence of its distinguished chairman, 
he had in charge the bill to create the Interstate Commerce 
Commission and define its jurisdiction and powers. That 
measure elicited prolonged, earnest, and serious debate, and 
the great skill and ability displayed by him in defending it 
and securing its passage gave him rank among the strongest 
and most useful Representatives. He had already, in the 
Forty-eighth Congress, given evidence of that remarkable 
grasp and perception of parliamentary law which Avas speed- 
ily to develop until he became one of its acknowledged 
masters. It will be remembered that the seat of Hon. John 
G. Carlisle, the Speaker of the Fiftieth Congress, was con- 
tested. This made it improper that the members of the 
Committee on Elections, which would be charged with the 
duty of examining into and reporting upon this contest, 
should be appointed by him. It was therefore provided 
that the committee should be chosen directly b\- the House 
of Representatives. 

Hon. Henry G. Turner, of (leorgia, then as now an 
honored Representative, had been chairman of that com- 
mittee in the Forty-ninth Congress, and in that capacity 
had rendered most useful and distinguished service. He 
declined to 'serve longer on that committee. Mr. Crisp' .s 
power in debate, professional acquirements, and aptitude 



14 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

for parliamentary management had been so notable that, as 
by one impulse, his Democratic colleagues, though against 
his will, selected him for the chairmanship of that com- 
mittee. His work in connection with it was of such high 
order that when the Fiftieth Congress ended, he had greatly 
advanced himself in public estimation as well as in the 
regard of his colleagues. In the Fiftv-first Congress, which 
had passed under Republican control, he was the senior 
member of the Democratic minority of the Committee on 
Elections. Though not holding a committee assignment 
of such character as according to the precedents invested 
him with the highest rank, yet, immediately upon Mr. 
Carlisle's retirement from this body to occupy the seat in 
the Senate to which he had been elected, by sheer force of 
his remarkable fitness he immediately forged to the front 
and seized the actual, substantial leadership of his party, 
which was never wrested from him until he had closed his 
eyes in his last and eternal sleep. No good purpose can be 
subserved by recalling the fierce and frequent struggles 
which marked the stormy career of that Congress. 

It is sufficient to say that this gallant and courageous 
leader was ever in the thick of the fight, battling bravely 
for the right as he saw it, and that amid all the heat and 
fury of the turbulent scenes then enacted his mind was ever 
clear, his aims definite, his purpose unfaltering, and his 
poise of character so magnificent and superb as to chal- 
lenge the respect and admiration of the whole country. 
Wlien it became known that the Fifty-second Congress 
would have a Democratic majority, he was at once a candi- 
date for the Speakership. His candidacy was not of his 
own making. It came about upon the insistence of a large 
number of his party colleagues, who, witnessing his steady 



Address of Mr. Catchings. 15 

growth, the wonderful versatility he had displayed in the 
discharge of every duty to which he had been assigned, and 
above all the masterful qualities which had distinguished 
his conduct amid the trying events of the Fifty-first Con- 
gress, desired that he should be elevated to the Speakership 
and charged with the grave responsibilities pertaining to 
that exalted office. The contest over the Speakership of 
the Fifty-second Congress was one of the most memorable 
in the annals of the House of Representatives. With no 
external influences to aid him, victory came to him through 
the sheer force of his strong and attractive personality and 
the profound admiration excited by the eminent services 
he had rendered his party under circumstances which dis- 
played to advantage his great and forceful qualities. Dur- 
ing this contest bitter attacks were made upon him from 
many sources, but his character was so lofty and his quali- 
fications so conspicuous that the shafts of misrepresentation 
and calumny fell harmless at his feet. He did not regard 
his election as in any sense a personal triumph, and I know 
that he entered upon the duties of the office of Speaker 
with as pure and patriotic emotions as ever animated the 
human breast. 

The difficulties and responsibilities attendant upon that 
oflSce are known to few outside of this Chamber, and in all 
their details they are not fully appreciated by man\- of us 
here. The Speaker appoints all the committees of the 
House. This power of appointment, conferred upon him 
by our rules, enables him in a large measure to give color 
to all important legislation which may be proposed by the 
several committees. The pressure upon him by members 
of the House for such assignments as their ambition or 
tastes may lead them to desire is persistent and tremendous. 



i6 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

While he can not and should not turn an indifferent ear to 
the claims of his friends and supporters, yet he must not 
forget that the responsibility for legislation rests largeh- 
upon him, and that beyond certain limitations, if he would 
have the best work done, he can not afford to be influenced 
by personal considerations or the inclinations of friendship. 
And in any event, even where all considerations are equal, 
his appointments can not be shaped so as to satisfy the 
expectations or desires of all. 

Under the rules of the House, very few of the commit- 
tees have the privilege of calling up for consideration at 
any time bills reported by them. Committees not possess- 
ing this privilege, and members interested in bills reported 
by them, are constantly importuning the Speaker to allow 
such measures to be acted upon. This imposes upon him 
the burden of Examining these bills, passing judgment 
upon them, and determining whether or not he will inter- 
vene to secure their consideration by the House. In the 
very nature of things he feels the necessity in the large 
majority of instances of this sort to refuse his intervention. 
While the Speaker is not so separated from the member- 
ship of the House as that, as in the case of the Speaker of the 
British House of Commons, he must cease to be a partisan 
when he assumes the duties of his office, yet as to all ques- 
tions not involved in party policy it is incumbent upon him 
to deal fairly and impartially with all the members of the 
House. A man so constituted that he can not as to such 
nonpartisan questions be absolutely just and equitable is 
not qualified for the office of Speaker. No man can satis- 
factorily discharge the functions of the Speakership who 
is not a good judge of human nature. He must under- 
stand that there are " many men of many minds;" that 



Address of Mr. Co tellings. 17 

peculiarities of temperament exist among the members of 
this House as elsewhere; that some of tliem are insistent and 
persistent, while others are diffident and shrinking; that 
some are extremely sensitive and easily wounded, while 
others are phlegmatic and not of so fine a mold; that self- 
assertiveness and loquacit}' are not always, or even usually, 
accompanied by the best ability, and finally that, generally 
stated, each member is fairly striving to serve his constit- 
uency according to the lights before him. 

How well Mr. Crisp met the requirements of the 
Speaker's office there are many here and elsewhere who 
can attest. His kindly and patient consideration of all 
requests made of him was notorious. He was always 
accessible, and neither by word nor manner gave offense 
to those whose official duties compelled them to approach 
him. Amid all the pressure upon him, even after his 
health was broken and the burdens of the office seemed 
more than he could bear, as Clarendon said of the great 
Hampden, "He preserved his own natural cheerfulness and 
vi\-acity, and above all a flowing courtesy to all men." 
Indeed, his nature was so kindly and his desire to possess 
the esteem and friendship of his colleagues so intense, that 
even when it must have cost him great effort he would 
assume that cordial manner and cheery smile so familiar to 
all of us in this Chamber. In dispensing the privileges 
at his disposal regarding the proceedings of the House 
he was absolutely impartial, and neither friend nor foe 
ever suspected that lie had not received from him fair and 
equitable treatment. 

As a presiding officer he has had few equals. His pres- 
ence in the Speaker's chair was so fine and nianh-, his 
voice so full and resonant, and his alertness and power in 
H. Doc. 255 2 



i8 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

dealing with parliameiitar\- problems so manifest, that it 
was always a pleasnre to onlookers to witness the snperb 
manner in which he presided over our deliberations. Mis- 
understandings and collisions between members sometimes 
occur to mar the proceedings here, and of these he had his 
share, as was to be expected in view of his strong character 
and prominent position. But he never sought to provoke 
these troubles, and I have many times heard him express 
tlie keenest regret that he had been drawn into them. He 
was a very ambitious man, but his ambition was to render 
honorable service to his country, and not to exalt himself. 
He believed in the teachings, principles, and traditions of 
the Democratic party, and therefore was an earnest partisan. 
But his partisanship was not of that cheap quality which 
eternally proclaims itself lest it be overlooked, nor was it 
ever displayed in such manner as to be personally offensive 
to others. While his opinion was firm upon all subjects 
that he had investigated, he was more than scrupulous in 
yielding respect to the judgment of those who differed with 
him. He recognized the right of all men to think for 
themselves, and imputed no improper motives or lack of 
abilitv to those who had reached conclusions and expressed 
opinions different from his own. 

This fairness upon his part was ever displayed in his offi- 
cial capacity as Speaker as well as in private intercourse. 
During the extra session of 1893, when the House of Rep- 
resentatives was called upon to deal with the important 
financial question then presented for its consideration, 
although he was an earnest advocate of the free coinage of 
silver, his official conduct was so fair and exempt from all 
personal bias or prejudice that no man, whatever his views 
may have been, could have pointed to any word or act of 



Address of Mr. Catching s. 19 

his upon which to base complaint or criticism. And as in 
this instance, so it ever was with him in dealing with great 
public questions. I do not hesitate to affirm that through- 
out his Congressional career, from its beginning to the end, 
he displayed the highest qualities of leadership, and that 
he was ever guided by aspirations and sentiments altogether 
ennobling. The distinguished Speaker of this House, in a 
telegram of condolence sent upon his death to his bereaved 
widow, truly said that his loss is the country's. He had 
rendered his conntr>- great and valuable service, and, being 
yet in the prime of life, he had abundant resources upon 
which, if life had been spared, he would freely and proudly 
have drawn in its interest and behalf. 

His services as Speaker of the Fifty-second Congress were 
so notable and satisfactory to his party that he was reelected 
to the Speakership of the Fifty-third Congress without oppo- 
sition, and in the Fifty-fourth Congress, which had passed 
under Republican control, he was complimented by the 
unanimous vote of his party associates for that office. Dur- 
ing the Fift\-third Congress he was tendered by the gov- 
ernor of Georgia the appointment as Senator to fill the 
vacancy created by the death of Senator Colquitt. It was 
no small part of his ambition to represent his State in that 
august body, .\ccompanying this tender came telegrams 
from distinguished citizens of Georgia who aspired to the 
vacant .seat in the Senate, pledging him that if he would 
accept the appointment he should have no opposition for 
election before the legislature. He did not feel that under 
the existing circumstances he would be justified in vacating 
the Speakership, and therefore promptly put aside the 
tempting object of his ambition. In talking with him on 
the subject I suggested that the opportuuit>- to attain a .seat 



20 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

in the Senate might never come to him a.s^ain, and insisted 
that he was not called upon to perform such an act of self- 
abnegation. Other friends tendered him similar advice. 
He could not view the situation in that light, and so, plac- 
ing country and party above self, he declined the great 
honor, and so far as outward appearances indicated without 
the slightest pain or even regret. And yet I knew, as many 
of his friends did, that he desired almost above all thin'j;s 
to be a Senator from the State of Georgia. No finer act 
was ever performed by a public man, and it is in itself 
ample proof of the nobility of his soul and the loftiness of 
his character. The people of his State, remembering his 
unselfish sacrifice, upon the announcement by Senator 
Gordon in the spring of last year that he would not 
seek reelection, promptly determined that Mr. Crisp should 
be his successor, and although considerable effort was made 
to organize opposition, yet the admiration and respect of 
the people for him was so unbounded that it was swept 
awav like chaff before the wind ; and at the general pri- 
maries held throughout the State in the summer and fall of 
1896 he was chosen as the Democratic nominee by a sub- 
stantially unanimous vote. But the legislature of Georgia 
was not permitted to ratify this verdict of the people by 
investing him with formal title to a seat in the United 
States vSenate. 

The disorder from which he had long been sufTering 
suddenly struck him down on the 23d day of October, 
i8g6, and, as with Moses of old, when in sight of the goal 
of his ambition, his noble spirit took its flight from all 
earthly scenes. The deep and widespread regret which at 
once, through telegrams, letters, resolutions, and otherwise, 
manifested itself in all sections of the country gave 



Address of Mr. Ca/c/iiiigs. 21 

evidence of the profound impression created throughout 
the United States by his eminent public services and of the 
high and affectionate esteem in whicli he was almost uni- 
versally held. In the State of Georgia, iipon which his 
splendid career had reflected such honor, the grief of the 
people knew no bounds, and was manifested bv nianv and 
impressive public ceremonials. For a time his body lay in 
state in the capitol at Atlanta, where multitudes of both 
sexes and of all ages and colors thronged to view it. It 
was then carried to his home in Americus upon a special 
train, escorted by the whole body of State officials and a 
delegation of judges in behalf of the judiciary of the State. 
At all the stations along the route vast crowds gathered, 
in many instances accompanied by military organizations, 
and often insisting upon having the casket opened that 
they might once more behold the features of their honored 
dead. In Americus, his home, where he was revered by 
his neighbors for his great achievements and loved for his 
affectionate and generous nature, upon ever)' building, 
whether private or public, emblems of mourning were 
profusely displa\-ed. Large delegations from every com- 
munit\- in his Congressional district gathered there to par- 
ticipate in the funeral rites. On the 25th day of October, 
amid the tears and lamentations of that vast assemblage, 
our honored friend and distinguished colleague was ten- 
derly laid away in his last resting place. 

I have not yet spoken of his domestic relations; indeed, I 
scarce know how to speak of them. They may be summed 
u]) in the statement that he was a devoted husband and 
a loving father. 1 doubt if in his famih' circle a harsh 
word or rude sentiment ever escaped his lips. When with 
his wife and children, his sweetness of temper, gentle 



22 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

care, and kindly consideration were beyond all power of 
description. 

The character of our distinguished friend easily accounts 
for the true and real leadership acquired and so long 
retained by him in the House of Representatives and else- 
where. I .sa}- elsewhere, for, as I have already- pointed out, 
he was under all conditions and circumstances a true and 
real leader. He was wholly exempt from every species of 
charlatanry. He had no trick of voice or deportment to 
distinguish him from others. He never strutted or posed 
or affected an air of wisdom or assumed a patronizing man- 
ner. In social life he never discoursed, but contented him- 
self with conversation, and that was always frank and 
polite, and especially marked by kindly consideration for 
others. He did not need to be bolstered up by such cheap 
and tawdry devices. For affrctations of all sorts indeed he 
had great contempt, often saying that the>- are the sure 
concomitants of weakness and vulgarit>-. His official con- 
duct was e\er courteous and dignified. Though possessing 
great faculty for retort in debate, and making use of it 
whenever it seemed to be the most effective weapon, vet it 
was of the kind that, though smarting at the time, left no 
permanent sting behind. His sagacity was such that he 
rarely took a false step in the management of the cause he 
had in hand. His success is largely attributable to the fact 
that he lost sight of himself entirely while discharging his 
official duties. I doubt if he was ever suspected of perform- 
ing for the sake of self-aggrandizement. His integrity of 
purpose, so far as I know, was never questioned, and I am 
sure that it could never have been successfully impeached. 
The traits I have described, coupled with industry', unceas- 
ing vigilance, exceptional power in debate, and a mental 



Address of Mr. Catcliings. 23 

poise which nothing could disturb, commanded the admira- 
tion, respect, and confidence of his party colleagues, and 
caused them instinctively to turn to him for advice and 
counsel. They knew that he faithfully endeavored to serve 
his country and party; that no desire for personal prefer- 
ment ever marred his purpose or directed his conduct; that 
he was alert and sagacious, studious and thoughtful, care- 
ful and prudent. Such a man could not fail to be a leader, 
no matter what might be his environments. My personal 
devotion to him was great, and I had abundant cause to 
know that it was fully and cordially reciprocated. It gives 
me infinite pleasure to reflect that the friendship between 
us was never impaired, and that to the very last I was the 
recipient of his love and confidence. With me no other 
can take his place. 



24 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



Address of Mr. Dalzell. 

Mr. Dalzell. Mr. Speaker, it seems difficult of belief 
that, while we are engaged from day to day in the routine 
of Congressional life and strife, one who but lately was in 
the forefront of every battle on this floor is sleeping his last 
sleep in the soil of his Georgian home. It requires our 
positive knowledge of a melancholy fact to persuade us that 
a glance across the aisle will not disclose his presence in his 
accustomed seat. His cheery voice, his kindly look, the 
warm grasp of his hand, I can hardly realize that they n\2c\ 
not be with me on the morrow. But the}' will not. He 
who was the leader of his party here and a potential factor 
when the first session of this Congress ended, ere its second 
session began, at the call of Providence, joined the great 
majority who have "passed over the river and are resting 
under the shade of the trees." 

The thoughts suggested by an occasion like this, while 
they are of the most solemn, interesting, and suggesti\'e 
character, are nevertheless trite and commonplace in their 
expression. True, they bring us face to face with the 
unsolved and insoluble problem of immortality. But death 
is the common destiny of all. Men have been dying since 
the world began; and with each death the same queries ha\e 
been made and have failed of answer. There is no oracle 
outside of Revelation to make reply. What that country 
is, or whether any, to_ which we all are bound no man shall 
know save the emigrant thereto. From him no answer 
comes; and philosophy and speculation are vain. There is 
no retreat save to the faith so aptly defined by the great 



Address of Mr. Dahcll. 25 

apostle as " the substance of thino;s hoped for, the evidence 
of things not seen." 

In bringing my humble but sincere tribute to the memory 
of Charles Frederick Crisp, I shall not undertake to 
recite at an\- length the histor>- of his life. Others more 
familiar with its details will do that, and they will do it 
lovingly. The merest outline of it is sufficient to prove 
him to have been a man of mark. Born to an inheritance 
of struggle, without the advantages of wealth or influence 
or great name, his native virtues, and these only, were the 
factors in the problem of his successful fortune. His edu- 
cation was only that of the common schools — the common 
schools that so man>- times have been the grand univer- 
sities productive of the highest type of American citizen- 
ship. The greatest of modern English poets has idealized 
such character in his conception ol — 

Some divinely gifted man, 
Whose life in low estate began 
And on a simple village green; 

Who breaks his birth's invidious bar. 
.•\nd grasps the skirts of happy chance. 
And breasts the blows of circumstance. 

And grapples with his evil star: 
Who makes by force his merit known, 

.\nd lives to clutch the golden keys, 

To mold a mighty .state's decrees, 
.\nd shape the whisper of the throne; 
And moving up from high to higher, 

Hecomes on Fortune's crowning slope 

The ])illar of a people's hope. 

The language of eulogy, ^Ir. Speaker, is too apt to be 
the language of extravagance, and the extravagant eulogist 
overleaps his purpose. I would avoid that danger, and, 
putting aside so much of the poet's language as would be 
extravagant here, will simply say that the boy of nameless 
birth, who bv his own inherent strength became the Speaker 



26 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

of the House of Representatives of the American people, 
has a right to be ranked as one who made by force his merit 
known, and lived to mold a mighty State's decrees. 

Into the panorama of onr friend's life there are woven 
many pictures. From a schoolboy he became a soldier; 
left home and kindred to follow the flag that stood to him 
for the right. That was not our flag. From our stand- 
point, he was mistaken; from his, he was a patriot. The 
time has long since gone by when dispute over that ques- 
tion may be had. And when he was borne, amid the 
lamentations of his people, to his last resting place, he could 
not have had (and I doubt not he himself would have said 
so) a more welcome shroud than the Stars and Stripes — the 
symbol of an indissoluble Union cemented in blood. 

In civil life, with great distinction, he illustrated the ver- 
satility of American genius and the grand possibilities of 
American citizenship. It is characteristic of the American 
that he is a man of many sides. A possible ruler as well 
as one ruled — a factor in the creation and maintenance 
of enterprises which under our system of government de- 
pend upon individual effort instead of governmental — his 
education is that of experience, and is practical and varied. 
The life of our deceased friend proves the truth of this 
observation, 

He was a lawyer of mark — first, solicitor-general of his 
circuit; then clothed with the spotless ermine of a judge. 
It is said of him that in both of these capacities he measured 
up to the full stature of a perfect manhood. Retiring from 
his judgeship, he became the representative of his State 
on the floor of this House. Here there is no need to sound 
his praises. They are part and parcel of the plain records 
of the American Congress. 



Address of Mr. Dalzell. 27 

During his period of service many questions of national 
importance enlisted legislative attention. His attitude with 
respect thereto was the attitude of his party; and he was 
ever at the fore in the assertion and maintenance of that 
party's principles. All honor to him for that. All honor, 
say I always, to the man of strong and honest convictions 
who has the courage to stand by them. 

In the assertion and maintenance of his chosen beliefs he 
was ever a leader. He possessed the elements of leader- 
ship. He was bold, aggressive, logical, convincing. He 
was inspiring; men loved to follow him. He was as brave 
in defeat as in victory. His leadership asserted itself; and 
b>- the choice of his party during two Congresses he pre- 
sided with dignity in the great office of Speaker of this 
House. 

I do not say that he was always right. I do not say that 
he had no faults. Far from it. He was a strong man and 
gentle; and his faults, such as they were, were overborne 
immensely b\' his virtues; and we have now no memory 
save for the latter. 

And so now, with this simple tribute to his memory — so 
far short of its deserving — -I leave him to his conspicuous 
place upon the roll of the nation's illustrious dead — among 
those whom the world deliifhts and will continue to hont)r. 



28. Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



ADDRESS OF MR. RICHARDSON. 

"Mr. Richardson. Mr. Speaker, on the first Monday of 
December, 1883, as a member of the Fort>--eighth Con- 
gress, Charles Fredkrick Crisp took his seat in this 
House. I did not know him until the beginning of the 
Fortv-ninth Congress, the first to which I was elected. 
Ver\- early after the organization of the Fort}.-ninth Con- 
crress I was assigned to membership on the Committee on 
Pacific Railroads, of which he was also a member. In 
the arrangement of seats at the table of that committee I 
■was placed by his side, and in this way first made his 
acquaintance. I was a new member, and although he had 
had then but one term, I found he was entirely familiar 
with all questions before the committee, and that its able 
and efficient chairman. Hon. J. W. Throckmorton, of 
Texas, and the entire committee trusted implicitly his 
opinions and his judgment 

The acquaintance thus formed between us grew into per- 
fect friendship. There was never an incident of any kind 
or character from the date of our first meeting, through all 
the long veais we served together in this House, that 
marred that friendship. It remained unbroken to his 
death. The reflection that throughout all his services here 
I had his esteem, his respect, and his friendship is a source 
of supreme satisfection to me. 

As a vonnger member of the House in service he always 
oave me his encouragement; as a coworker in committee 
he oave me his assistance: and finally, when he came to 
the highest position in the gift of this body, I rejoice 
to know I enjoyed his confidence and support. Each time 



Address of Mr. Richardson. 29 

when he sought the Speakership it -was my pleasure to cast 
mv vote for him; and on the occasion of his last nomina- 
tion to that ele%-ated station I had the honor iwhich I 
regarded a high one) by his request to formally present his 
name. On that occasion, among other things, I said: 

The very pleasant task has been given me of placing in nom- 
ination for Speaker of the House Ln the Fifty -fourth Congress 
a gentleman who is my •warm personal and political friend. It 
goes without saying that rhi"; gentleman has already been 
named for the position in the hearts of all of us here assem- 
bled, and it only remains for the formal words to be spoken. 
■^Tien the Fifty-second Congress was about to assemble, just 
four years ago now. there appeared in this Chamber 240 of the 
chosen representatives of a hopeful and triumphant I>emocrac>\ 
Then it was, after a sharp and brilliant contest, the gentl eman 
I am to name was placed in the Speaker's chair. Two years 
later, when about 215 members of our party met here for a 
similar purpose, with the experience of a past Congress to 
guide us, with full knowledge of his honesty, capacity, and 
ability, he was by unanimous action and with hearty acclama- 
tion again chosen our leader. We come now a small band of 
patriots, so far as numbers are concerned, to say again he is our 
choice for this responsible office, but we recognize the fact that 
thi*; time our declaration is impotent. 

The roll was called, and he was unanimotisly chosen as 
our nominee. 

It will not be expected of me on this occasion to enter 
into an account in detail of his long and useful career as a 
member of this House and a citizen of Georgia. This has 
been done to-day by others of this body by whom these 
things are said more appropriately than by myself I shall 
content myself with speaking of him in a more general 
way. 

The effort on my part to fully describe the loss the 
country, and more particularly the Democratic part\% 



30 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

sustains bv liis untimely death would be a failure. There 
is no man in public life to-day who could not better be 
spared than Mr. Crisp. His place may be taken, but it 
can not be filled by any other Representative. 

He enjoyed to the fullest capacity the confidence of his 
party not only on this floor, but throughout the Union. 
Those who differed with him here and elsewhere enter- 
tained for him marked respect. His powers in debate 
were of the very highest order, as all can testify who ever 
thus met him. He was always cool and clear-headed, and 
often quite aggressive. His courage was unsurpassed, as 
his supporters and opponents all will bear witness. His 
honesty was never questioned. His conduct was always 
above reproach. Called to the responsible and exacting 
duties of Speaker of the House, he met these responsibil- 
ities and duties in such manner as to reflect not only honor 
and credit upon himself and his party, but upon the entire 
country. In the chair he was always amiable, yet always 
positive. He was gentle, yet stern when duty demanded 
sternness in the Speaker. He loved to do deeds of kind- 
ness as a presiding officer, but never did them when it was 
improper to do them or when they were to be done at the 
expense of his office. He was gifted in the statement of 
all questions and was a talented parliamentarian. He was 
at all times composed, and while others grew excited, his 
self-possession was never for a moment disturbed. He was 
firm in his administration of the affairs of the House, and 
at times was quite emphatic, but he was always impartial, 
considerate, and just. 

There are times, we all know, in this body when, amid 
the excitement incident to debate on exciting political 
questions, when party feeling is running high and bitterness 



Address of Mr. Richardson. 31 

of expression is freeh' indulged, to preserve order and 
fair decorum tlie occupant of that chair is called upon to 
exercise and must, in his discretion, exercise great powers. 
Yet during all his experience through many trying and 
exciting scenes he never exercised those powers rudeh' or 
too arbitrarily. He never on such occasions abused the 
prerogatives and powers of the Speaker or brought his high 
office into contempt. 

I would not be understood as saying or insinuating that 
he was not a partisan, or, more strictly speaking, a party 
man. He was a strong believer in the principles and tenets 
of his party, and this with a man of his pronounced con- 
victions and courage necessarily made him more or less a 
partisan ; but his partisanship was never exerted at the 
expense of his patriotism. Tliough a partisan, he was not 
a fanatic. 

His experience as a lawyer and judge made him conserv- 
ative and fair-minded. He never for one moment permitted 
his partisanship to provoke in him bitterness of feeling or 
expression or to render him uncliaritable toward his politi- 
cal opponents or those with whom he differed. He never 
impugned motives when engaged in controversies nor 
assailed character in partisan warfare. 

His public record covers a period when courage, high 
ability, and absolute integrity were required to meet grave 
and important exigencies. It is a proud satisfaction to 
know that his connection with the history and his appear- 
ance in all these exigencies and emergencies were wholly 
honorable to himself and conspicuously serviceable to his 
State and country. 

In unofficial life he was given the best opportunity to 
display those splendid traits of character which in him 



32 Life and CItaractcr of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

were so pronounced and distinguished. I have said he was 
honorable and just as a public man and presiding officer; 
so he was sincere and true as a private citizen. His was a 
changeless sincerity. He was never in disguise. He was 
the soul of honor. He had a contempt for everything low, 
mean, or sordid. Highly endowed as he was by nature 
and his own training with so many estimable traits, his 
influence over men was almost without limit. 

He had no compromise to make with that which was 
wrong, and held with tenacity to that which he believed 
to be right. 

He was warm-hearted, genial, and social in his nature. 
He enjoyed the companionship of friends, and made it both 
pleasant and agreeable for them to be with him. High 
toned, manly, and dignified in manner and conduct, he 
treated everyone, both high and low, in fashion becoming 
a gentleman, and expected like treatment in return. 

He was in every respect a most lovable man. 

All who came in close acquaintance or contact with him 
became his friends and admirers. He was a genuine type 
of the best element of the South. He was called before 
his work was finished. He did not die of old age or linger- 
ing delay. "His eye was not dim, nor his natural force 
abated." 

He was an active worker until his life closed. The full 
measure of his capabilities had not been reached, and his 
career was incomplete. He was full of ambition, but was 
never sordid and venal. His ambitions were all noble. 

One of his highest ambitions, as I have heard him say, 
was to represent Georgia in the United States Senate. Yet 
he was so self-sacrificing to his conception of the true sense 
of duty that, when the coveted seat was graciously tendered 



Address of Mr. Ric/iardson. 33 

him bv the governor of his State, he declined it, saying his 
first dut>- was not to himself, but to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, which had honored and trusted him. 

He held the high office of judge before being elected to 
Congress, and also filled other positions of responsibility' 
and dignity in his State. In the late war between the 
States he was a courageous soldier. From his early man- 
hood until death ended his bright and enviable career his 
pathway had been strewn all along with honors, his hands 
filled with trusts confided to him by his fellow-citizens, 
his brain continuously occupied in anxious and arduous 
thought, his body often taxed to the utmost of physical 
endurance, but his course had been steadily and unfalter- 
ingly upward. 

When the end came, there was no stain upon his name 
and fame. He died in the maturity of his strength and in 
the fullness of his powers. The position he attained in his 
country's pantheon is an elevated one. His name will 
survive long in the history of his State and the country. 

A familiar writer has said, "There is no antidote against 
the opium of time," and that "gravestones scarce tell the 
truth forty years." It is vain for any man to hope for 
immortality or for a patent from oblivion, for there is noth- 
ing reallv immortal but immortality. 

It is a fact that only twenty-seven names of the multi- 
tude who lived make up the world's history before the 
Flood. The greater part of humanity by far must be con- 
tent to be as though they had not been, and be found in 
the register of God and not in the record of man. 

I will not disparage the names of those who have gone 
before him in the high oflSce of Speaker of this House. 
Many of thetn have been men of great renown and adorned 
n. Doc. 255 3 



34 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

that exalted station, but none of them surpassed him in 
zeal and devotion to duty, none surpassed him in patriot- 
ism, honesty, and courage, and none exceeded him in 
energy and integrit>-. The best that can be said of any of 
them can be truthfully said of him. 

His splendid and successful career was cut off when he 
was in his highest usefulness, and all must realize the 
irreparable loss his State and the Republic sustained when 
his incomplete life was terminated. 

The story of his life illustrates what energy, honesty, 
integrity, and devotion to duty will achieve. That story 
will illumine the brightest page not only in Georgia's his- 
tory, but that of our whole country ; and his name, which 
passes as an invaluable heritage to his grief-stricken widow 
and children, will be preserved and perpetuated in spotless 
purity through a long hereafter. 



Address of Mr, Maddox. 35 



ADDRESS OF Mr. MADDOX. 

Mr. Maddox. Mr. Speaker, the distinguished gentlemen 
who liave preceded me have in eloquent and beautiful 
language portrayed the life and character of my late dis- 
tinguished colleague as a soldier, citizen, husband, father, 
lawyer, prosecuting officer, judge, member of Congress, and 
Speaker of this House, and but little is left for me to sa)'. 
But there are some thoughts that I desire to suggest on this 
occasion. What has already been said of his merits, in my 
opinion, has not been exaggerated. 

I first became acquainted with Charles Frederick 
Crisp in Atlanta in 1S83, when he was presiding over a 
State convention for the purpose of nominating a governor, 
and met him occasionally until I became a member of the 
Fifty-third Congress, when my relations with him became 
exceedingly close, and I am proud to say that I enjoyed his 
confidence to a larger extent perhaps than any of his col- 
leagues. He told me of his political troubles and trials. I 
knew his ambition to be a Senator from Georgia long before 
he made that fact known to the world, and when he was 
offered the appointment by Governor Northen, no one knew 
better than nn'self what it cost him to lay aside the goal of 
his ambition to discharge a patriotic dut\' that he owed the 
country; but he did it cheerfully. 

When he determined to become a candidate for Senator, 
he departed from the usual custom that prevailed in our 
State in obtaining the voice of the ])eople. Instead of 
going before the legislature, he demanded of the ])arty 
machinery in the State that they order a primary election 



36 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

for United States Senator, and let every Democrat in 
Georgia speak for himself; and they did speak, and from 
the mountains to the seaboard, almost without a dissenting 
voice, he was chosen. Through his long term of service 
in this House he was always the champion of the people 
and their rights, and when he aspired to a seat in the Sen- 
ate, it was to the people he appealed and not to rings and 
combinations. As high as he stood in the estimation of 
the people of his State, they never fully appreciated his 
great ability on the stump. He never had any opposition 
that amounted to anything in his election in his own dis- 
trict, and, the State never being a doubtful one, therefore, 
when the great political contests were being fought through- 
out the Union, he was at the command of his party, and 
wherever the battle raged the warmest there he could be 
found at the front battling for Democracy. So, when he 
went to Georgia to discuss the political issues of the day 
in joint debate with his distinguished fellow-citizen Hon. 
Hoke Smith and was compelled to discontinue them, some 
of the newspapers were unkind enough to attribute his with- 
drawal to an inability to cope with his distinguished and 
able adversary. 

Mr. Speaker, we who have seen him cross swords with 
the ablest men in the House on every sort of question that 
it is possible to conceive of in a body like this, and found 
him to be the equal of any and inferior to none, and who 
knew of his great power and tact upon the stump before 
the people, were not prepared to believe this, and when he 
returned to his post here, I met him at his hotel and found 
him a sick man, and from what he said I knew that his 
disease was far more serious than mere throat trouble. I 
sat beside him in the first session of the Fifty-fourth 



Address of Mr. Maddox. 37 

Congress, and I know that after his return from Georgia he 
never arose to address the House but he complained of the 
great pain it gave him to do so. After Congress adjourned 
he went to Asheville, N. C, and spent the summer. There 
his friends hoped he would regain his health at that famous 
resort. 

The reports we had from him from time to time led his 
friends to believe that he had been greatly benefited, and 
when he returned to Georgia in the early fall, I, at the 
instance of the citizens of Rome, invited him to address 
the people of that section on the political issues of the day. 
He accepted the invitation, and I met him at the depot the 
evening before he was to speak, and was astonished to see 
the inroads that disease had made upon him in the few 
months we had been separated. But, notwithstanding the 
fact that he was then at death's door, he bore up manfully 
and attended a reception that was held in his honor and had 
a hearty handshake and smile for all whom he met. 

He was to speak the next morning at 11 o'clock. I 
called for him at 10 o'clock and was admitted to his room 
by his distinguished son, Charles R. Crisp, and found 
him upon the bed writhing in pain. After the paroxysms 
had to some extent passed off, I begged him not to attempt 
to make a speech. He said that he was advertised to speak; 
the people had come to hear him, and he was determined 
to make the effort. I accompanied him to tlie opera house 
and introduced him to the vast audience that had assembled 
there. He spoke for one hour and fifteen minutes, and, 
while he was not as vigorous as I had seen him when 
addressing the people before, he made one of the clearest, 
most logical, and powerful arguments that I ever heard 
from him. This speech was published throughout the 



38 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

State and used as a campaign document. And yet, while 
he was speaking, I would not have been surprised to have 
seen him fall, and was expecting it; but with sheer force of 
will power, which he possessed in a wonderful degree, and 
with death staring him in the face, he coolly, deliberately, 
and courageously depicted the wrongs of the present finan- 
cial system and told the people how they were to be cor- 
rected. This was his last speech, and it was worthy to be 
his last. 

The people who heard him were delighted and were 
looking forward to the time when they could point to him 
as the Senator from Georgia. But alas! how little did 
they know- of the condition of this man they were so eager 
to honor. I\Ir. Speaker, when he was leaving Rome, I 
begged him not to attempt to speak any more in the 
campaign. He finally agreed that he would not, though 
exceedingly anxious to visit several places in the State for 
that purpose. My opportunities for judging this man were 
good. I had his confidence. I sat by him. I watched 
him closely. I compared him with all the distinguished 
men that I knew or had ever known; and in my judgment, 
viewed from every phase of life, politically, socially, and 
otherwise, he was the peer of any and inferior to none. 

When the death angel, with his solemn message, invaded 
our midst and summoned from earth this pure and spotless 
statesman, the nation mourned and every heart in Georgia 
was saddened, every eye was dimmed with tears; for they 
realized that a great and good man was gone and our 
country had sustained an irreparable loss — cut down in the 
strength and vigor of his manhood, when his ability and 
usefulness were recognized all over the country. Though 
he will mingle with us no more, and we will miss the 



Address of Mr. Maddox. 39 

genial smile and the cordial hand clasp, though his voice 
may be hushed and his chair may be vacant, yet the spirit 
of patriotism and chivalr>' which he breathed into the 
hearts of his countrymen will live for ages. We can not 
dismiss him to the dark chambers of death. Recognizing 
his greatness and goodness, we delight to do him honor, 
and will weave bright garlands gathered from the sweetest 
flowers of admiration, friendship, and love, and tenderly 
twine them, a last sad tribute, around his memory. 



40 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



Address of Mr. McMillin. 

Mr. McMillin. Mr. Speaker, it is sad to have those at 
any time of life go from us who are capable of serving their 
countr>'; but to have the gifted and patriotic taken in the 
prime of life, when ability is at the zenith, when the enthu- 
siasm of youth is happily blended with the discretion of 
age, is the greatest loss the State can sustain in the death 
of the citizen. 

Such was the case in the death of CHARLES Frederick 
Crisp. He had by hard work and superior intellectuality 
fought the battles of early life and won. He had attained 
an eminence in his State and country of which any man 
might be justly proud. He had the respect and confidence 
of his party and people in a very high degree. His State 
stood ready to bestow upon him still greater honors. His 
countr}' was ready to applaud and ratify anything his State 
did in his honor. A future full of brightness and distinc- 
tion lay before him when the relentless reaper came and 
claimed the harvest. 

Mr. Crisp was one of the young men of the South who 
came on the stage just in time to see his country rent asun- 
der and distracted by a fierce fratricidal strife. Brave and 
enthusiastic, he united his fortunes with those of his State 
and section and risked his life in behalf of what he thought 
was right. The close of the war found him still a youth, 
in a land devastated by the ravages of war, with its agricul- 
ture prostrate, its educational institutions closed, many of 
its young men buried on the battlefield, and sorrow and 
waste hanging like a pall over the whole land. Such had 



Address of Mr. McMilliu. 41 

been the ruin around him that of the 11,000,000 people in 
the South the combined wealth of 7,000,000 would prob- 
ably not have aggregated half a million dollars. Ruin 
stalked abroad where prosperity had only a few years before 
smiled on the whole land. There was everything to dis- 
courage, there was everything to dismay. 

Such were the scenes which surrounded this young man 
on his return from the greatest war of modern times, and 
the greatest civil war of history. Like many other noble 
and strong young men of that day and land, Mr. Crisp saw 
these discouraging surroundings without dismay. Instead 
of giving up because his educational advantages had been 
restricted by these patriotic duties, he cast about him for the 
best means of restoring his country to its former prosperit>- 
and its prestige. He did not give up the struggle of life 
because the struggle at arms had been unsuccessful. He 
had confidence in the strength of his people, the resources of 
his land, and the power and permanency of free institutions. 

Others who have preceded me have given so minute an 
account of his action at that period, the exertion he made, 
the success he attained, the trust reposed in him by an 
appreciating people, that it would be out of place for me to 
reiterate them; but it may be truly said that he was one of 
the hard-working and potent agencies in reviving the droop- 
ing spirits of the people around him and in building up the 
waste places of his loved land. Notwithstanding he died 
.so young, he lived to see the agriculture of his countr>- rise 
again. He lived to see the sails of commerce whiten the 
ocean and Gulf around him. He lived to see his own State 
one of the leaders in the manufacture of the cotton it jjro- 
duced. He lived to see the iron smelted in the valleys 
through which he had recently fought force its way by its 



42 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

superiority or cheapness to the markets not only of this 
country, but many of the markets of the Old World. He 
lived to see educational institutions spring up anew where 
they had been paralyzed or destroyed by war. He lived to 
help return the ballot to his comrades in arms from whom 
it had been taken, and he lived to be a potent agent in 
resisting Federal interference with vState elections, and 
in taking from the statute books the laws which tended to 
give undue influence to Federal power in the elections of 
the people. 

Although Mr. Crisp died so young, if we judge his life 
bv its activities, its accomplishments, its successes, we may 
truly say he had a long and eventful public career. I knew 
him well, having served with him during his whole term in 
Congress, and being connected with him in committee serv- 
ice at the time of his death. He had a quick perception, a 
strong understanding, and a genial disposition. Having 
lived in the same hotel with him for a considerable period, 
I knew his domestic life as well as his public. The same 
eentleness in demeanor which characterized him when asso- 
ciating with his fellow-men he carried to the family circle 
intensified. At the hearthstone, in the midst of his family, 
he was all that could be expected of the husband and father. 
As a member of this House, he was watchful and pains- 
taking. As its Speaker, when presiding over the House, 
he was courteous, ready, and firm. 

Mr. Speaker, in the death of j\Ir. Crisp his State has 
lost an able and patriotic public servant, and our institu- 
tions a zealous advocate and a strong defender. To his 
family ever}' member who served with him and knew him 
will join in most heartfelt expressions of sympathy. 

Mr. Speaker, the State of Kentucky, soon after the close 



Address of Mr. McMillin. 43 

of tlie Mexican war, erected in the cemetery at her capital 
a beautiful monument to her sons who fell in that war. 
The gifted Theodore O'Hara recited at its dedication a poem 
he composed for the purpose. He was afterwards a comrade 
in arms of Mr. Crisp, and I know not how better I can 
express the feelings of his associates here from whom he 
has been taken than by quoting the words of his comrade 
spoken at that monument : 

Nor wreck, nor change, nor w-inter's blight, 

Nor time's remorseless doom, 
Shall dim one ray of holy light 

That gilds your glorious tomb. 



44 ^Af^ '^''^ Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



ADDRESS OF MR. CUMMINGS. 

Mr. CCMMIXGS. jNIr. Speaker, Tarquiii, tyrant of Rome, 
once signified a desire to cut off the heads of his tallest 
nobles. If nobility of nature had been the standard, and 
Ch.^rles Frederick Crisp had lived under his dominion, 
he would certainly have been in danger. Nature had fash- 
ioned him with the greatest care. In the class for which 
she had designed him she had left a space verj^ near the 
head of the list wherein he was to write his name. To fit 
him for it, liowever, his training was to be severe and 
varied. Man, soldier, jurist, he acted his part well ; but it 
was as orator and statesman that he was to round up his 
career. The vicissitudes that intervened taught him endur- 
ance, faith, hope, and constancy', so that when he .arrived 
at his destined service he was fitted for the tremendous 
encounters he was to endure. 

He entered the lists with extreme modesty. His voice 
was low and soft, his demeanor graceful, his manner unob- 
trusive. He knelt at the shrine of the people, and rose 
knighted, the defender of their rights — a new champion 
in the lists. Among the throng he was hardly noticed, 
but he placed himself in front of his charge. When the 
poachers of power threatened his preserves, he started up — 

Xot like the fox that shuns the snare, 
But lion of the hunt aware. 

In the giapples that ensued he first leveled the approaches, 
that the contest might be fair. Then he stormed the cit- 
adel his adversary had set up. With herculean power 
and unyielding constancy he made every crevice feel his 



Address of Mr. Citiiiiii/iigs. 45 

incisive assaults, and every salient the unabated force of his 
well-trained battery. When demolition ensued and all was 
over, he made the ruin effulgent with instructive lessons. 

I might here close this sketch, satisfied that I had given 
an outline of the characteristics of this noble man, but 
he was my friend, at times my leader, always my instructor, 
and I feel it a duty on this occasion to fill it up with such 
observations on his career as my knowledge affords. 

I shall speak of him with something of the suppressed 
emotion with which Antony struggled over the dead body 
of Caesar, though in their lives there was little analogous, 
and in their death nothing whatever. Neither have I any 
motive, as the Roman had, for playing the cunning orator. 
To those who were here with him I need not say that his 
conduct was most noble under all circumstances ; to those 
who were not here, I will say they have missed an exemplar 
whom they could have studied with advantage. Questions 
of tremendous import, of vast national importance, shook 
this Hall during his membership. Call to mind the great 
struggle over the force bill ; the lesser one over the McKin- 
ley bill. The first he opposed because he believed it a 
blow at the attributes of citizenship, sapping the founda- 
tions of our polity; the second because he deemed it the 
vicious outgrowth of a false political economy. All that 
party zeal, great research, and eminent ability could com- 
mand clashed in these combats. At times the House 
swayed and tossed like a forest heaving to a tempest. 
When the storm had swept by and decorum had returned, 
such is the tenacity of party ties tliat alignments were 
found to be hardly affected. 

How often, amid the wildest commotion, have I seen 
Mr. Crisp ride calm, dignified, and graceful, confident in 



46 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

the justice of his cause, spurred on by duty, and by his 
almost faultless diction, his earnest manner, and his all- 
sweeping logic soothe the struggling elements. Members 
might not agree with him, but they would listen. There 
was no malignity in him, nor even asperity. From his 
well-filled quiver he drew no poisoned arrow, for he knew 
that passion and judgment could have little fellowship, 
and he was earnest to convince. 

His oratory was not overvehement. It flowed with regi- 
mental precision, close-ranked, animated, and confident. 
His bearing was always superb. I never knew him halt 
for a word or at fault for an illustration. When the situa- 
tion warranted, he would light up the House with the live- 
liest display of humor. In attributes, in political tenets, 
and in his manner of illustration, he might not inaptly 
be called the John Bright of the American Commons. 

His bouts with our distinguished Speaker, eminent for 
his talents and his audacity, were of thrilling interest. 

Flashes of lightning and mutterings of thunder betokened 
the storm. It was like those intense situations we have so 
often seen upon the stage, where the future is threatening 
and the outcome dubious. It was not in the nature of 
either to give an inch of ground. When they had thus 
met in full career, and the strength and mettle of each 
had fully proved themselves on the other, they generally 
unlocked, if I may so express it, with something like defi- 
ant courtesy. Each had triumphed over the other for the 
Speakership ; each could generously and truthfully say of 
the other : "Great let us call him, for he conquered me." 

Many of us remember Mr. Crisp's contest for the Speak- 
ership. It was his ambition to preside over the House, of 
which he was so devoted a member. His party dominated 



Address of Mr. Cummitigs. 47 

by an immense majority, and were privileged to caucus for 
the prize. The contest was intense enough to unsettle 
nerves not proof against disturbance. From first to last 
he was threatened with defeat. Yet no ripple was observ- 
able in his even and well -sustained deportment. When 
proclaimed victor, he received the honor with thanks, 
emphasizing that he was conscious of the responsibility it 
imposed and modestly showing he was confident he could 
meet its claims. His address on taking the gavel was 
a model of brevity and almost touching in simplicity. 
Here it is : 

Gentlemen of the House of Representati\t;s : For 
the great honor you have conferred upon me I return you 
heartfelt thanks. 

I .shall endeavor to discharge the duties of the office of 
Speaker with courtesy, with firmness, and with absolute impar- 
tiality. Let us unite in the hope that our labors here may 
result in the advancement of the prosperity, the honor, and 
the glory of our beloved country. 

The words "our beloved country" flowed into the speech 
with as sweet a cadence as ever sprang from human heart 
and fell from human lips. By unanimous vote the House 
afterwards signified that he had fulfilled his highest 
promi.se. » 

It was during his vSpeakership that his constancy was 
severely tried. His highest ambition was to be a Senator 
of the United States; but he desired to win the honor by 
services faithfully rendered to his State and people. A 
vacancy in the Senatorship occurred. The governor of 
Georgia tendered it to liim. He had but to accept it and 
walk into tlie other house. He put it instantly aside to 
serve out the term for which he had been chosen. Duty 



48 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

chained him to the House, and that was a chain at which 
he never strained. In such estimation was he held b\' the 
people of his State that on the first occasion that offered 
itself they overwhelmingly designated him for the high 
position he had declined. 

Such, Mr. Speaker, was }"our predecessor as I saw him 
and knew him in this House for man}- years. But there 
was a softer and far more tender shade to his character. It 
was his love for his home and family. I saw him and 
knew him in his typical Georgia home. I have conversed 
with him for hours while the mocking birds flooded the air 
with music and the sweet perfume of the cape jessamine 
was wafted to the porch. I have marked his devotion to 
an invalid wife, his tender afTection for his children, and 
his generous care of old and tried servants emancipated in 
the war. I have .sat at his table. ]\Iorning, noon, and 
night have I seen him bow his head and heard him ask 
God's blessing upon the food spread before him and his. 
It was a family united in love and affection — one in which 
the good old Southern term of endearment, "hone}'," was 
not forgotten. The children honored the father and the 
mother, and the parents honored the children. When the 
funeral procession passed the house, the words " His old 
home" were affixed in flowers above the gate. They had 
been placed there by his neighbors. It was thus he passed 
to a new home in the hereafter. 

But his brilliant attributes will remain a resplendent 
memory, and when bereft of all human vanity, as I hope 
we may be, many of us, I am sure, as years go by, will 
declare with wholesome pride, "I was a member when Mr. 
Crisp was Speaker. ' ' 



Address of Mr. Hermann. 49 



Address of Mr. Hermann. 

Mr. Hermann. Mr. Speaker, it is related of a great his- 
toric character whose portrait was being painted that when 
tlie artist suggested he would eliminate from the picture a 
mole upon the face, the great man answered, ''No; paint 
me as I am." Could the wish of our departed friend be 
known, it would be that his life, like the face of the por- 
trait, should be represented just as it was. And well he 
could afford this wish. Sir, for nearly twelve years it was 
my privilege to be associated with Charles Frederick 
Crisp as a member of this Congress, and though differing 
with him on political lines, I esteem it a high privilege to 
unite with other associates in expressing this my tribute of 
respect, of love, and admiration for the life and character 
of this distinguished statesman. I speak of him as I always 
found him. 

It seems but yesterday that we beheld in yonder chair 
the genial face and well-remembered form of him whose 
eulogy we now speak. Whether as the presiding officer 
of this House or as the unassuming and always courteous 
member on the floor, his presence was such as to invite 
the most kindly attention from his associates as well as 
from the onlookers in the gallery. Though one of the 
most devoted to any task undertaken by him, yet in the 
performance of that duty there was always shown a ready 
willingness to suffer interruption and with patience to 
answer either friend or opponent, and with equanimity to 
continue. A remarkable trait possessed by ex-Speaker 
Crisp was in his complete self-government. In all the 
debates in which he participated — and it was his lot while 
H. Doc. 255 4 



50 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

a member to participate in some of the most exciting con- 
troversies known to our annals — he maintained a manly 
self-possession, a placid, undisturbed, and unruffled temper, 
and a hold on his subject which eminenth- fitted him to 
occupy the trying position of leader of his party. It must 
have been a pleasure and a pride among his partisans to 
follow such a leader. There was an absence of egotism, of 
arrogance, of captiousness, of hauteur in his character. To 
the young members, more than all, will his :nemory in this 
respect be cherished. 

The leader of a party in this House can, if his self-will so 
ordains, discourage and permanently impair the future of 
many a young member, while he can also encourage, aid, 
and incite him to his best efforts. Nothing so delighted 
Mr. Crisp as to rescue, by kindly suggestion or active aid, 
the embarrassed young member floundering in some trying 
debate or entangled in the parliamentary procedure of the 
House. Never was there a member of this body more 
approachable, more seemingly unconscious of high honors, 
and yet more dignified and more in place than he. The 
best test of his splendid character, however, was that which 
he soon developed in the Speaker's chair. In this exalted 
place the occupant too often abandons his previous cordial 
mannerism and at once assumes an air of austerity and lofty 
elevation above his fellows not justified by the dignity and 
authority of any office in this our republican form of gov- 
ernment. With Speaker Crisp there was still retained the 
genial, lovable qualities which ever distinguished him 
before. He had grown no greater; his associates had grown 
no less. And yet he was the able, dignified, respected 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

To the innumerable demands upon him for recognition he 
was courteous and patient — willing to hear the merits of the 



I 



Address of Mr. HcrDiaini. 51 

measure submitted, and then either granting, considering, 
or regretfully declining. Whatever was the answer, the 
member was made to feel that consideration was accorded 
him. His appeal had been kindly, respectfully heard. He 
could not complain. So sensitive was he to the feelings of 
his fellows, that never did he refuse a request that he did 
not suffer moie pain than did the one denied. He never lost 
his control when Speaker. We all recall his superb bearing 
when presiding over the House when often wrought up to 
intense excitement over some political debate. It would 
seem as if the angry passions, the personal taunts, the crimi- 
nations and recriminations on the floor, even to the extent 
of harsh reflection, fiery invective, and individual criticism 
hurled at the Speaker himself, would so unnerve and dis- 
turb him as to prompt retaliation upon his tormentors. 
Speaker Crisp rose grandly above this temptation. With a 
cool head and a firm gavel he ruled the storm and mastered 
it. When order was restored and the membership was again 
tranquil and the hot heads were cooling, not the slightest 
indication could be discerned in the face of the Speaker 
of the siege he had just passed through. He exemplified 
in tlie most practical manner and under the most trying 
circumstances the Scriptural injunction: "Let every man 
be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." 

And when at last in the revolution of parties anotlier 
succeeded him in the chair, again he returned to the mem- 
bership on the floor and resumed his duties as a Represent- 
ative; he was still the same generous-hearted, considerate, 
.self-sacrificing friend, associate, and member as he everwas. 

With all the angry contentions which history will note 
as a part of his administration of this House, and which 
are .still in vivid recollection, it is a refreshing boast, and 
confers imperishable luster upon his good name, that he 



52 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

exercised his powers as a Speaker in a fair and impartial 
manner as between the great parties on the floor, and that no 
stamp or stain suggestive of disrepute rests upon any public 
or private act during his long service as the trusted and 
distinguished representative of the people of his State. 

Like the spire on some lofty cathedral seen at close view, 
when neither its true height nor its majestic proportions 
can be accurately measured, so is ex-Speaker Crisp, in 
according to him his just place in history in so brief a 
period after his death. His splendid life work will shine 
forth in even greater luster as time goes on, for then the 
mists which more or less obscure every active, ambitious 
genius, surrounded by enmities and personal antagonisms, 
will have faded away, and exposed to view the intrinsic 
worth and the perfect symmetry, the strength and beauty 
of this well-balanced life. 

The light of our friend was extinguished while it was 
yet day — yea, at high noon. He was still in the midst of 
his usefulness, and no premonition pointed out the untimely 
end. The summons came, and the work was done. It is 
difficult to realize that this is true. Do we comprehend 
the uncertainty of life? Is it so frail ? We hear the answer 
in the expiring breath and see it in the open grave. It 
leaves an admonition to us all: "Do thy work to-day; for 
thee there ma}- be no to-morrow." May we not hope that 
if not here there may be that to-morrow in the celestial 
realms, "in that temple not made with hands, eternal in 
the heavens?" 

Mr. Speaker, with these poor words in testimony of my 
high esteem for our departed associate, and in grateful 
remembrance of his noble, generous nature, I tenderly lay 
my sprig of acacia upon his honored grave. 



Address of Mr. Ding ley. 53 



Address of Mr. Dingley. 

Mr. DiNGLEV. Mr. Speaker, I made the acquaintance 
of Charles Frederick Crisp soon after he entered the 
Forty-eighth Congress as a Representative from Georgia. 
That acquaintance ripened into an intimate friendship, 
which continued till death removed him from the House 
of Representatives during the interval between the close 
of the first and the opening of the .second session of the 
present Congress. 

Notwithstanding our divergent political views often 
brought us into antagonism in debate, >et on all occasions 
he bore himself with such courtesy and kindliness of spirit, 
as well as abilitv and elevation of tone, that my respect for 
him personally and my admiration of his ability were 
increased. During my long service with Mr. Crisp, in 
which we were frequently on opposite sides of important 
and exciting political questions, nothing ever occurred 
to mar in the slightest degree our warm friendship and 
mutual regard. 

For some time after entering Congress Mr. Crisp mod- 
estly refrained from active participation in the business and 
debates of the House, realizing as he did the importance 
of familiarizing himself first with the rules and methods of 
the House, so dissimilar in many respects from the practice 
of all of our State legislative bodies. Unlike many other 
parliamentary bodies, the House, partly from the necessity 
which exists in. an assembly of .so large a membership and 
partly because of its rapidly changing elements, pays little 
regard to courtesv in the conduct of its business, and grants 



54 1^'ife and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

ver}- little to any member beyond what he is entitled to 
under its rules and practice. 

I well remember the first time that Mr. Cri.si' forged 
to the front and demonstrated not only his ability as a 
legislator, but also his skill as a parliamentarian. It was 
on the occasion of the consideration and passage of the 
interstate-commerce bill, when the enforced absence of 
Judge Reagan, the chairman of the committee having that 
subject in charge, threw upon Mr. Crisp the responsibility 
of defending and guiding that important measure through 
the House in the fact of a well-organized and determined 
opposition. This duty he performed with an ability, skill, 
and success which at once placed him among the leading 
members of the House — a rank which he subsequently 
maintained without difficulty. 

When the Democratic party came into control of the 
House at the opening of the Fifty-second Congress, it was 
natural that Mr. Crisp's name should have been promi- 
nently mentioned for the Speakership, especially in view of 
the fact that while temporarily occupying the chair he had 
shown himself to be an expert parliamentarian and a suc- 
cessful presiding officer. But his nomination over older 
associates of larger experience and greater prestige was a 
recognition of his fitness for the high office of Speaker, 
which was shown to be well deserved. The ability and 
fairness with which he discharged the duties of this impor- 
tant and difficult position entitle Mr. Crisp to a high 
place among those great statesmen who have graced this 
high office, second only to the Presidency itself 

Mr. Crisp's mind was eminently logical and judicial. 
The possession of such a mind is absolutely essential to 
real success and usefulness in public servace. In high 



Address of Mr. Dinghy. 55 

public position men ruled by sentiment, who possess little 
logical power, little capacity to accurately weigh all sides 
of important questions, and especially to distinguish effects 
from causes, are always dangerous leaders, however sincere. 
Indeed, their power for mischief is only augmented by 
the earnestness which is sometimes born of inability to 
judicially weigh consequences. Mr. Crisp's mind was so 
logical and judicial that he could see all around a ques- 
tion and avoid the errors and dangers of surface thinking. 

Mr. Crisp's position in the House was reached as much 
througli his industry as through his ability. Indeed, no 
one achieves eminence either in public or private life except 
by persistent and well-directed work. There is no royal 
road to real and permanent success here or elsewhere. One 
who has carefully and thoroughly prepared himself to meet 
responsibilities is sooner or later needed. On the other 
hand, one who excuses himself from the labor required to 
make himself a master of his chosen line of study will 
never be able to keep to the front. 

]\Ir. Crisp's rapid rise from a humble condition to so 
high a position in the nation affords another illustration of 
the fact that in this land of the free merit is accorded 
recognition regardless of station or wealth. In spite of 
the effort of narrow minds to create the impression that 
there are classes in this country who secure privileges 
denied to the masses, the fact is tliat no class distinctions 
exist among our people, and that there is no distinction, 
no honor, no privilege which is not equally open to every 
citizen, however humble. 

It is here in this Chamber, where Representatives from 
each of the forty-five States of the Union meet to consult 
with reference to the interests of this great Republic, that 



56 Life and Cliaracter of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

we feel as nowhere else the strength of the tie which binds 
together our seventy millions of people. Differ in opinion 
as we mav, there rises above those differences the mutual 
regard engendered by the friendships here formed, and the 
feeling that we are fellow-citizens of a common country 
whose interest we desire to promote, and the heirs of a 
common heritage whose priceless blessings we desire to 
defend. 

When, therefore, one of our number is removed by 
death, especially one who has been so long with us as has 
Mr. Crisp, we feel the separation not only as a national 
loss, but as a personal bereavement. 

What we call death — the dissolution of the mysterious 
union of soul and body which characterizes life as dis- 
cerned by our imperfect natural vision — is always an 
unwelcome, although inevitable, visitor. But when it 
comes to one who, like Mr. Crisp, was still young and in 
the height of his usefulness, the shock is intensified and 
the grief deepened. Happy is he who, when called to 
close his eyes on the scenes of earth and enter upon the 
life beyond, can meet this summons with a serene faith in 
Him who is over all and above all, as we doubt not was 
the case with our departed associate and friend. 



Address of Mr. De Ar»tond. 57 

Address of Mr, De Armond, 

Mr. De Armond. '\lx. Speaker, tliis hour is appropriately 
devoted to services in memory of a distinguished member of 
this body, lately with us, now gone to 

The uiuliscovered country, from whose bourn 
No traveler returns. 

His life has been gracefully sketched by others f^ir more 
familiar with it tlian 1 am, though I knew him quite well 
from service witli him in the House of Representatives. I 
knew him somewhat also in the relations of friendship out- 
side of the House. Of him it has been well said, because 
it has been truthfully said, that on the domestic side, as 
husband, father, friend, citizen, his life was not only with- 
out reproach, but admirable. 

The career of Charles Frederick Crisp as a ptiblic man 
has been ably and fittingh' outlined to-day before this audi- 
ence and before the countr\-. He himself painted the pic- 
ture, and tlie lines have been but pointed out by those who 
have just engaged the attention of the House. A poor boy, 
he entered the Southern army from his Georgia home, and 
performed well the duties of a soldier "in times that tried 
men's souls. " Emerging from the prison where he had been 
cast bv the fortunes of war, with l)ut little preparation except 
that which had been made in the rude .school of the camp, he 
began the stud\- of his chosen profession. How he rose in 
that profession from the stripling attorney at the liar to be 
solicitor-general, and soon became the chief presiding officer 
of the court ; how l)y tlie suffrages of those wlio knew him 
well he was sent to this Hou.se, and how his lcgislati\ecareer, 
begun here and ended here, is honorable and illustrious — all 



58 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

this is known to his associates and to the country too well 
to need recital from nie. 

It may be worth while to inquire in what lay principally 
the elements of the eminent Georgian's success. What was 
there about him that elevated him above his fellows in a 
body always distinguished for having within it man>- men 
of great and commanding ability ? How did he attain and 
how did he retain leadership unquestioned within and over 
a party difficult to lead and ever ready to throw aside leaders 
and to choose new ones in their stead ? That he was a man 
of ability all know. But he led able men, who willingly 
followed him. That he was a man of courage goes without 
saying. But he had cheerful followers in men independent 
as well as courageous, because they felt that he would 
lead them aright. I believe that the one quality which 
contributed mightily in giving him this ascendency in the 
House — conceding to him great intellectual endowment.s — 
lay in his amiable and lovable disposition. He won power 
through his kindliness and retained it through kindness, 
supplemented, of course, by tact, ability, and firmness. 

His leadership was not self-imposed. To it he was called 
voluntarily by his party associates, because they believed 
he would lead in the course which it was right for them to 
take — because it was not irksome to follow him — because 
his leadership was so pleasant that it seemed but superior 
fellowship. 

Some men achieve greatness and command success in 
ruline over other men bv virtue of intellectual endowment 
alone or by vast will power. While Mr. Crisp possessed 
these great gifts of nature, he also possessed that sweet and 
kindly disposition which attracted people to him, which 
nrade people love to be associated with him, and which 
preserved his sway over the minority, as it is now — over 



Address of Mr. Be Armond. 59 

the majority as it was for a time — as perhaps the sway of no 
other man of his part\- will be established or maintained in 
this House in many a day to come. He has gone; gone to 
return to these Halls no more. I can not add to his fame, 
nor could I detract from it. His life work is known; it is 
approved by those who knew it best. His career was indeed 
a remarkable one; and if he had not died in his prime, there 
is no guessing how many new triumphs of statesmanship 
might be placed to his credit. 

What a proud thing it is, Mr. Speaker, for a man starting 
poor and working his way without extraneous aid to rise 
bv the power of his own personality, by his intellect and 
lovable qualities, to the high position which Mr. Crisp 
reached, and which you, too, twice gained; an official posi- 
tion second only to one other in the world; a place which, 
well filled — filled by intellect, courage, courtesy, kindness, 
impartiality — is often in a lifetime even higher than any 
official station not occupied by a man pos.sessing the same 
estimable qualities of the head and of the heart. Then, 
true indeed it is thai Mr. Crisp's was a life upon whose 
bright, clean, glorious story we may dwell with profit to 
ourselves and to those who are to come after us. 

Leadership is not necessarily sought or coveted. It is 
generally born in the man. Sometimes it is acquired by a 
man's own zeal, and .sometimes it is thrust upon a man. 
However, men of superior ability naturally aspire to leader- 
ship; not a few attain it without real merit. Rut those wlio, 
because of qualities inherent in themselves, retain leader- 
ship over followers possessed of the power to depo.se them — 
these few are men born to lead, as others are born to follow. 
Perhaps the proudest tribute to the memory of the 
departed statesman whose death wc mourn is that he 
retained his ascendency over men not so much by virtue 



6o Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

of special effort as through the warm feeling, akin to affec- 
tion, -which his snnn>- disposition and native kindliness 
awakened in his associates, so that they felt themselves 
honored in honoring him. 

The loss to Speaker Crisp's party and to his country is 
almost irreparable. While we of the minorit)- have many 
able and strong men among us, yet attention does not turn 
to anyone in particular as being peculiarly fitted, as lie was, 
for the post of leader. At least, no one stands out, to the 
exclusion of the others, like lAx. Crisp did, as the proper 
leader here of the forces of the Democracy. 

I esteem it a privilege, Mr. Speaker, that, as a member of 
this body, I have beheld two great parliamentary leaders, 
one upon either side of the Chamber, each superb in his own 
way, marshal their respective forces, now for attack, now 
for defense. I do not expect again in life, though my years 
be prolonged to great length, to find their equals in ability 
to lead and govern their fellow-partisans in parliamentary' 
warfare. But could either have led so successfully the 
forces which followed the other? 

Often we think and say that those who die in their prime 
are taken prematurely. Of course, to family and friends, 
to love and hope and pride, the shock comes most rudely 
when the blast of death has blown where, it would seem, 
the blush of life ought to continue. But, after all, when 
you consider the fame in years to come of a man whose life 
is full of good deeds and grand achievements, as was I\Ir. 
Crisp's — looked at in the light of history — is it an unmixed 
misfortune in the annals of the world that such a one goes 
down when the sun is at high noon, instead of lingering on 
the stage of action, often superfluous, until the long and ever- 
lengthening shadows from the west are falling upon him? 



Address of Mr. Dc Arnwiid. 6i 

Yet there is no doubt that if Mr. Crisp had been spared 
lie would long have been one of the greatest members of 
the Senate, whose doors were open for him to enter; no 
doubt that had he lived he would have gone from honor to 
honor; no doubt that Iiis fame and usefulness would have 
grown and expanded, no matter how rich the honors and 
deeds to his credit when the dread destroyer overtook 
him. 

His career is hardly matched in the legislative history of 
the country. At least there are few to lay side by side with 
it; and with his honors full upon him, in the full possession 
of his magnificent abilities, surrounded by his beloved 
family and cherished friends, his warm heart ceased to beat 
and his great intellect was transferred to another scene of 
action. Long will his memory live in the hearts and in the 
minds of all who knew him. Long will his services to his 
country be remembered gratefully by those who justly 
appreciate them, kindly even by those who believe he was 
wrong politically, because, above all things, he was an 
amiable man in high station, who as nearly avoided the 
giving of offense to any, and as uniformly treated all with 
consideration, kindness, and generosity, as anyone of whom 
we have a record or anyone whom we may ever expect to 
meet. 

Mr. Speaker, in contemplation of these sad events, which 
are occurring daily — for death is almost as old in the world 
as life; with the centuries full of life and death, and death, 
like birth, marking every hour and every minute of every 
day — we are brought, over and over, time and time again, 
to the strange, alway .sold, and ever fresh reflections which 
will spring \\\> when we gaze into the open grave, when we 
view the cold and lifeless clay which so recently was the 



62 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

mortal shelter of the departed spirit. Filled with that awe 
which the ages have not been able to banish, which per- 
vades generation after generation, we solemnly ask, Whither 
has the spirit gone tliat lately tenanted this clay ? What is 
there of existence beyond this world ? Or is this all ? Is 
this the end? We can not see through the veil just a little 
way before us, Imt thick enough to cloud the sight. Faith 
and Hope alone light up the gulf; alone give promise for 
the future. 

Our friend has gone. His memory is with us, enshrined 
in our hearts. By his example we hope to profit. But 
again the query presses for answer, " If a man die, shall he 
live again?" The abandoned clay is in the churchyard at 
Americus, under sweet flowers, with the soft Southern sky 
bending over all. But the spirit! What of it? Is that, which 
was so much, nothing now — vanished, dissolved, annihi- 
lated, as though it never was? Did its existence terminate 
with the life of the body? Whatever vainglorious philoso- 
phers may say, man rebels at the suggestion that there is 
nothing beyond the grave. The hope, sometimes clung to 
in desperation, sometimes cherished in brightest anticipa- 
tion, that there is a hereafter, and that men, though they 
die, yet live in that hereafter — we will not give that up. 
No philosophy, even if ripened in ages of calm reasoning, 
can banish it. It springs as an inheritance of humanity, 
as an instinct in the soul of every human being that 
breathes. We believe — our hopes, our affections, all that 
we hold near and dear in life, admonish us to believe, con- 
strain us to believe — that our friend has not perished, but 
that in a higher and nobler sphere this great intellect, this 
tender, loving spirit shall flourish and expand, and achieve 
new triumphs and perform new deeds of glory and of grace 
while countless ages roll on into eternity. 



Address of Mr. Dinsmore. 63 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Dinsmore. 



Mr. Dinsmore. I^Ir. Speaker, in the presence of gentle- 
men here who were so much nearer to Charles Frederick 
Crisp, who were so fortunate as to have a more extended 
acquaintance witli liini, a closer relation, a longer term of 
service, I approach with diffidence and hesitation the hon- 
orable privilege which has been extended to me to speak in 
commemoration of a great man who made his life a part of 
the illustrious history of this House. It is not for me to 
criticise his great character. I leave that to those more 
capable of the task. I only desire, Mr. Speaker, to place 
upon record the humble tribute of one who had an acquaint- 
ance and friendship with him through a few years, but 
who, during that whole time, learned to honor, admire, and 
love him more and more. 

It is at all times a delicate and a responsible undertaking 
to speak here for the permanent record upon the life and 
character of one who has been a member of this House. 
INIen are too prone to run into extravagant expression, to 
magnify the virtues of the dead as well as disparage the 
merits of the living. What is said upon these occasions 
should be not only just to the dead, but faithful to truthful 
history. I fain would, in the few sentences which I shall 
speak to-dav, do so as if in presence of the conscious spirit 
of our departed friend, knowing that he would have me 
give utterance to no sentiment that is not justified by his 
own life. Nor have I sought for information upon the 
detailed incidents of his history, preferring to put into 
words the impressions that association with the man have 
made upon me, and to stop there. 

Duty does not demand of us to enlarge upon or even to 



64 Li/c and Character of Cliarlcs Frederick Crisp. 

refer to foibles of character; but, on the other hand, it is 
required of us that in the things we say we shall deal fairly 
and honestly with ourselves and with the dead. Therefore 
I shall endeavor to restrain my expressions within the 
bounds of temperate speech, within the limits which I 
believe would be indorsed by our great leader if he could be 
present and hear what is said of him. 

Mr. Speaker, every man's life, in a narrower or wider 
sense, is an ideal for other men. Whether it be lowly or 
exalted, whether it be humble or great, there is among every 
man's associates some person who will look to him as an 
e.xemplar of his own conduct, who will find in him some- 
thing worthy of imitation; and it is pleasant to think there 
are few men who do not thus exercise an influence for good 
upon mankind. The greatest good of a great life is its 
influence upon society. In the aspirations of early youth 
the boy selects some great character of history and tries to 
fashion himself upon that model, to build himself up to 
that level. What a grand figure have we here to inspire the 
ambition, the fortitude, the patriotism, and the integrity of 
American youth, aye, and of American manhood! 

Mr. Speaker, I have had the honor, in the short time I 
have served in the House, to be associated with Mr. Cri.sp 
as Speaker of the House in one Congress and as the acknowl- 
edged leader of the minority in another. In every relation, 
in every emergency, in every situation it has appeared to me 
that he arose to the full stature of great manhood and capa- 
bility of dealing with the difl!icnlt tasks that confronted him. 
As Speaker of the House, as leader upon the floor, as a 
citizen in private life, he was always thoughtful and digni- 
fied, firm and unyielding in adherence to principle, and bold 
and fearless in defense of it, yet withal kind, gentle, cour- 
teous, and considerate. As Speaker, he was easy of access 



Address of Mr. Dinsmore. 65 

to every member of the House, even though the humblest, 
newest, most obscure member that had come into it — easy 
of approach, and always having words of encouragement 
for those who sought to make themselves useful in the great 
House over which he had the honor to preside. 

I have no doubt that each one who came into the House 
while he was Speaker has pleasant memories of his own 
experience and of the words of counsel he has given, and we 
cherish in our minds tender memories never to be effaced. 
He was gentle as a woman, simple in his demeanor, yet 
always calm, dignified, self-possessed, strong, and great. 
As leader of his party on the floor, he controlled his forces 
more by inspiring them with love and confidence than 
with fear of discipline. He was tolerant of the impulsi\-e 
ardor of the inexperienced, of the "vaulting ambition" of 
youth that in this forum so often "doth o'erleap itself," 
and gave full value to the xisefulness of every member. 

But, Mr. Speaker, it was in the fury of polemic tempest 
that this man rose superior to his fellows. The louder 
shrieked the winds of passion, the higher mounted the 
surging waves of partisan animosity, the greater appeared 
the man, the more capable of battling for his cause and of 
representing the issues for which he stood. This was one 
of the characteristics of the man — that he shone best under 
the greatest difficulties — and it seemed to require great and 
critical situations to bring out his intfllcctual qualities and 
his great power of leadership. And he has challenged the 
admiration not only of this side, but of that, and the whole 
country, for his great ability in performing the stern duties 
of presiding officer of this unruly House. 

It perhaps accords with common observation that sim- 
plicity, gentleness, kindness, and unostentation are almost 
universally characteristics of the truly great man. Con- 
II. Doc. 255 5 



66 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

sciousness of acknowledged superiority, of security in a 
position of leadership, and of general approbation and 
respect generates charity toward rivals and consideration 
for opposition, and causes a great mind to contemn pom- 
pous parade and vulgar display, the artifice and the trick of 
the demagogue. Our departed friend despised all things 
of this character. He always drove straight for the mark, 
and by the ponderous power of logic and reason and appeal 
to honor and patriotism he hewed his way to the accom- 
plishment of his great purpose, always unyielding, brave, 
and courageous, yet generous to opposition, and never 
forgetting to be courteous to all and considerate of all. 

The privilege was accorded me of a slight glimpse into 
his domestic life, and it was there, Mr. Speaker, that the 
beautiful attributes of his character were brought most 
prominently into view. A devoted husband, a kind, gentle, 
and affectionate father, his faithful wife adored him and 
his children hung upon him as the tendrils of the vine 
entwine themselves about the body of the sturdy oak. 
Coming out of the war almost a youth, with no inheritance 
save a soldier's honorable name won in a cause that was 
lost, with no possession other than a tattered uniform and 
the blood, brain, and brawn that God had given him, he 
started out to make for himself a place in society and in his 
country's history. At the threshold there was linked with 
his life a young, confiding, loving woman, who in the flush 
of youthful aflfection defied the will of parental authority 
and joined herself to him to march by his side through the 
highways and byways and the uncertain incidents of this 
world. 

When the time came, Mr. Speaker, when the blush of 
beauty had faded from her cheek and the form he loved in 
its vouthful beautv had been wrenched in the cruel tortures 



Address of Mr. Dinsmore. 67 

of rheumatism, there was no lessening of the love which he 
gave to her in the beginning, but with stronger and greater 
attachment he stood by her side, and when she held out her 
crippled hand the love light mounted to his eyes and he 
was wont to say: "But I will be your hand. You shall 
walk upon my feet." Those hands and those feet, Mr. 
Speaker, never failed her, but were ever present to perform 
their affectionate offices. A beautiful intimacy existed 
between him and his children. Often have I looked up 
with admiration from m>- table at the hotel where we all 
lived, when father and son — that son whom a loving people 
have sent here to fill the vacant chair caused by the relent- 
less hand of death, honoring both father and son in the 
deed and themselves as well — would walk in side by side, 
sometimes hand in hand, often arm in arm, before the 
assembled guests, utterly unconscious that any were look- 
ing with admiration upon the beautiful comradeship wdiich 
existed between the two. And there are not many things 
more beautiful than confidence and fellowship between 
father and son, nor anything better calculated to impress 
the son or lead him upward and onward in an honorable 
life and to an enviable old age. 

But, Mr. Speaker, in the midst of his honors, in the 
very zenith of his usefulness and his splendid life, the scythe 
of the reaper has mown him down. He has left his foot- 
prints upon the highways of our nationality; he has 
engrav'ed his name upon the tablets of his country's history; 
he has left behind him a name to be emulated and honored, 
and he has carried with him the respect of his enemies, the 
admiration and affection of his friends, the devotion of his 
family, the confidence and esteem of all ; and what more, 
Mr. Speaker, can any man claim for himself upon going 
out from this world? 



68 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



Address of Mr. Buck. 

Mr. Buck. Mr. Speaker, I had hoped to be able to add in 
my best voice to the tributes that are paid to-day to the 
honored dead. But the elements seem against me; and I 
do not know whether I shall be able even to make myself 
heard. 

The propriety, Mr. Speaker, that some one young in 
membership in this House should say something of that 
great public servant whose memory and whose deeds are 
here commemorated must be the apology for my presuming 
to add mv humble voice to these tributes. When Hamlet is 
challenged to the duel with Laertes, Osrick says to him: 
"You are not ignorant of what excellence Laertes is." 
Hamlet replies: "I dare not confess that, lest I should 
compare with him in excellence; but to know a man well 
were to know himself." 

There is therefore in these things a semblance, if not a 
substance, of self-praise which under any circumstances 
would make me modest in speaking of the great dead 
whom we honor here to-day. 

I anticipated, however, the situation. I knew that mem- 
bers of this House who knew him better than I and were 
better able to speak his praises and display the beauties of 
his character would precede me, and I would be relieved of 
anything more than the expression of that impression 
which I gladly and truthfully convey and which it was my 
good fortune to imbibe from him during the short period 
that it has been my happiness to know him. It has per- 
haps been my good luck that in this very short period I 



Address of Mr. Buck. 69 

have learned to know more of him than happens in the 
average intercourse between members of this House. And, 
witliout repeating what has beeu said, I can only say that, 
perhaps by operation of that inexplicable intuition by which 
soul communicates with soul, I received the impressions of 
that greatness of character, that firmness of mind, that 
consistency of purpose, that devotion to duty which distin- 
guished Charles Frederick Crisp and which language 
can not exaggerate. I will ask the privilege, in view of the 
fact that the memory of the dead and his deeds are on record, 
to pronounce a few reflections incident to this service which 
perhaps also convey their lesson. 

I have heard criticised — I may say ridiculed and con- 
demned — the practice not only of the Houses of Congress, 
but of courts and other public bodies, to spend hours like 
these in eulogies upon the dead. Well, it is in the nature 
of things. There is evil as there is good. The scoffer is 
at hand to tread upon the heels of the reverent. The jester 
and the clown are by in the motley mystery of human life 
to mix their colors in the garments of wisdom and of dig- 
\\\\.\. But these things come not from men who see "books 
in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in every- 
thing." 

I am the spirit that denies — 

sajr's the arch scoffer — 

Part of the part am I; once all, in primal night — 
Part of the darkness which brought forth the light. 

Why, sir, that is the struggle, the epic of man's redemp- 
tion, to overcome the spirit of denial and survive godlike 
in the prevalence of truth. And truth prevails and is evi- 
denced to-day when this House of Representatives turns 
aside from its usual business and from its public service to 
lav the flowers of trilnite upon the tomb of the departed 



70 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

dead. As we look down the ages and let pass before the 
view the toils and the struggles, the failures and the suc- 
cesses, the lights and the shades of human character and 
effort; and above all, when we look into our own souls, and 
try to square ambition with achievement, desire with con- 
summation, hope with possibility — aye, all the contradic- 
tions and paradoxes of conduct and aspiration — we do rise 
from the contemplation with the conviction that through 
all there is a higher destiny. And even in the blankness of 
despair and the tragedy of hopelessness, we exclaim with 
Hamlet, in the ecstacy and exultation of our souls — 

What a piece of work is man ! How noble in reason ! how infinite in 
faculties! in form and moving, how express and admirable! in action, 
how like an angel ! in apprehension, how like a god ! 

Are not these thoughts justified when we recall that 
majestic, that self-controlled, that courageous, that manly 
figure that drew by his magnetic look the attention of his 
followers and the admiration, if not the approbation, of 
his opponents ? 

Public service should, as a principle in our country, be 
always commended. Few men enter politics from purely 
selfish motives. They do not find, if they enter from selfish 
motives, what they seek. They soon find that it is a service 
and a sacrifice, not a gathering of fruits; and whatever the 
original motive may be with which public men begin to 
develop themselves, there is always at the bottom the senti- 
ment of patriotism, a desire and an ambition to serve our 
fellow-men, to be workers in the field of progress and of 
good toward our country. The wholly selfish man rarely 
troubles himself about public life. He nurses his personal 
comfort, and concerns himself no further about the law and 
the liberty of the land than is necessary to protect his own 



Address of Mr. Buck. 71 

rights and the pursuit of happiness as he understands it. 
Happily for the human race and happily for this great 
country and the people of the United States, mankind 
stands vindicated in the high shrines of the temples of 
dut\- and devotion. It awes the scoffer into ineffectual 
retreat. It shoves by the selfish. The history' of man and 
human progress is an eternal story of sacrifice, devotion, 
and of self-denial. 

We know where in this struggle the departed dead stood; 
and let us reflect, as has been said, that if he does not take 
his place among those meteoric successes which come from 
genius, yet he ranks among those men whose names live in 
history, not by the noise which they have made for them- 
selves only, as the Csesars and the Napoleons, but in the 
rhythm of those gentle streams and strains that flow from 
their heart's sympathy for the welfare of mankind. We 
admire genius; but genius is the gift of God rather than the 
virtue of attainment. We look up to a Homer, a Dante, a 
Shakespeare, and a Goethe as to the inspired of God; but 
when, in solemn judgment, we pass on the merits of men 
in the light of their practical service and usefulness, the 
civilized acclaim goes up to the jurist and the soldier, the 
philosopher and the legislator, the inventor and the reformer, 
as the pillars on which the teinple of development is erected. 
Behold Solon and Leonidas, Guttenberg and Luther, Frank- 
lin and Washington ! And, Mr. Speaker, if not among these 
men as leaders, still among them, as a class, we place the 
name of Mr. Crisp. 

Not to repeat a threadbare quotation (if Shakespeare 
ever can be threadbare), he was of that robust directness 
which is always honest and honorable; firm as a rock and 
candid as the light. Aggressive, perhaps, at times to the 



72 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

point of severity, he was ever consistent and conscientious. 
Self-reliant without ostentation, fixed to his purpose like 
the northern star, his ambition cast in the high mold of 
patriotism and general welfare, he will hold his place, all 
in all, in that rank of men of giant and heroic mold, of 
all the elements of manhood well compact, of which the 
majestic Brutus will ever be the literary and historic type. 
Mr. Speaker, it is grateful to render these testimonials 
of affection and approval to the departed dead. It is 
o-rateful to live with them— to remember them, as it were — 
in the pure atmosphere of spiritual conception, gathering 
the good they have done iuto tangible shape as examples 
for emulation and pledges for the growth and happiness 
of the future of mankind. So with our honored dead. 
However inadequate our tributes may be — while what he 
leaves behind him in the memory of his perfect character 
and patriotic service is already secure for all time— they 
o-ive vital movement to the good which he accomplished; 
and its present influence will go out at once to the Ameri- 
can people, that they may know and feel how glorious a 
thing is the perfect American citizen. 

In this great republic of humanity, where in ever\- 
village churchyard the willow shades the graves of sover- 
eign masters; where every — even the humblest— heart 
may swell with the passions of a destiny grander and 
nobler than the majesty of kings, public virtue is a public 
need and public recognition a duty and a consecration. 

The republics of antiquity made their great men and their 
heroes gods, not only to honor the dead, but to incite the 
living to emulate their illustrious careers. The great people 
of these United States, for once and ever, should turn back 
the slander that republics are ungrateful. Let them ever 



Address of Mr. Buck. 73 

recognize greatness and reward service, honor character, 
and glorify achievement. With that will come regard for 
constitnted authority and reverence for law, which mean 
peace and order. So shall we develop the perfect citizen- 
ship and consummate the highest aims of self-government ; 
so shall we adorn our liberties and make sacred our sense of 
justice ; and so, Mr. Speaker, and so best, will be served and 
honored the glorious dead, whose strong arms were their 
countr^•^s and whose heart-throbs were the aspirations 
of humanity. Among these, transfigured in the light of 
immortality, will stand Mr. Crisp. He will live long in 
the affections of his people, and the virtues of his patriotism 
and the record of his services will shine out among the 
brightest in the uplifting spheres of human liberty and the 
unmatched heavens of American citizenship. Thus the 
living render their devotions, that the dead may be at rest. 

Such honors Ilium to her hero paid, 

And peaceful sleeps the mighty Hector's shade. 



74 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



ADDRESS OF Mr, Cooper. 

Mr. Cooper. Mr. Speaker, I well remember the first day 
that I ever saw Charles Frederick Crisp. It was during 
the preparations for the opening of the Fifty-third Congress. 
He stood apparent!)- in all the vigor of manhood's prime, 
surrounded by the leaders of his party in this House, full of 
life and hope, of vitality and courage, yet receiving all 
with that cordiality, that easiness of access, that charm of 
manner that was characteristic of the man, and was but the 
outward reflection of an inward kindliness of heart. 

It seems but vesterday. It is but a few short years as days 
are counted, and yet within that space of time we have 
made much history. We have seen many hopes fade, we 
have witnessed many misfortunes; but nothing sadder than 
the event that draped that desk in mourning and cut short 
in mid course the high career of Mr. Crisp. 

Truly, Mr. Speaker, these things are beyond human 
understanding. He was surrounded by a loving family, by 
troops of friends. He had the esteem and good wishes of 
thousands of his fellow-countrymen. He stood just upon 
the threshold of yet further oflficial preferment and honor 
from that great State that has so often honored him and 
that he has so honored, when, at the very noon time of his 
life, when his sun seemed to be at the very zenith, suddenly 
it declined and went out. 

■ Sir, it is not merely an individual loss that we lament 
here to-day. It is the loss to a great party and the loss to 
his country. When the leader of one of the great parties 
of this country, full of experience, yet in the prime of life, 



Address of Mr. Cooper. 75 

full of capability and patriotism, of \-igor and of force, and 
3-et conservative as Mr. Crisp was, is taken away, his loss is 
at any time a calami ty in such a country as ours. But a 
such a day as this, when dissensions and discords distract us; 
when, look where we will, we see but threatening clouds; 
when all circumstances call upon iis to realize the need of 
those high attributes which the great State of Georgia — 
which he represented, and where I had the honor to be 
born — has engraved upon her coat of arms as the chief sup- 
porters of the governmental fabric — justice, wisdom, and 
moderation — how great is our loss in such a man! I had 
hoped much from the wisdom and the moderation of IMr. 
Crisp. He was never a theorist or an extremist. He hoped 
for the perpetuity of his party, which he regarded as one of 
the instruments of good government, and he loved his coun- 
try-. With his wide knowledge of public men, with a high 
career before him, with the open field of opportuuit>-, I 
looked for years of usefulness and honor, in which he would 
have not only advanced his own reputation, but in which he 
would have been of most material assistance to his people, to 
the preser\'ation of his party, and to securing the prosperity 
and welfare of his countr}'. But, sir, that, too, has pas.sed. 
When I rose here, it was not with the idea that anything 
I could say would be of any consequence to his fame or 
add aught to him. He has written his own memorial in 
the records of this House and on the pages of his country's 
histor\-. When I was asked to assist in these services, I felt 
it to be a high honor. Others who have been much longer 
here have dwelt upon his qualities and upon his course in 
this House. I can add nothing to that ; but to one charac- 
teristic it is peculiarly appropriate that I should render 
my testimony. I came to the Fifty-third Congress a new 



76 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

member, comparatively a young man, and I know that 
everyone who participated in that Congress, and who so 
came here, will join me in the tribute which I paj- to Mr. 
Crisp when I say that his generous hand, guided by that 
kindly heart, held wide open always, when it was possible, 
the gates of opportunity to the inexperienced and to those 
who could do naught for him, but for whom he could do so 
much. It is a pleasure to me indeed to-day to be able to 
testif}' in some small degree my gratitude for that constant 
kindness. He has gone beyond the reach of our words, 
but he is not dead. "As the tall ship, whose lofty prow 
shall never stem the billows more," he has merely sought 
a haven of rest. No man is dead while he is borne in 
affectionate or grateful remembrance, and, Mr. Speaker, 
Mr. Crisp will live long in the hearts of many. 



Address of Mr. Sxvaiison. 77 



ADDRESS OF Mr. SWANSON, 

Mr. SwANSON. Mr. Speaker, a great public career has 
ended. One of the foremost public men of our country has 
been stricken down. One of the greatest parliamentary 
leaders of this age is no more. One of the shining lights 
of this House, whose splendid achievements have and will 
ever shed luster upon it, is no longer with us. The recog- 
nized leader of this side of the House, who counseled and 
directed us, has departed and left us to mourn a loss which 
is irreparable. A great heart, warm, generous, kind, and 
magnetic, no longer pulsates. A mind, clear, strong, and 
masculine, of great depth and gra.sp, no longer gives us its 
scintillations of thought. A tongue of great eloquence 
and power, which has so often stirred and swayed this 
House, is now silent in death. A life in which can be 
traced much of shadow and shine, much of privation and 
much of triumph, inspiring in its success over difficulties, 
admirable in development and attained proportions, has 
terminated, and we to-day pause in our deliberations to pay 
merited tribute to and to do reverence to one who has left 
behind him such a life. 

I rise to deliver no elaborate eulogium — others have done 
that — but simply on behalf of my State and myself to place 
a modest cliaplet of love and admiration upon the grave of 
Ch.>\ri.f..s Frkderick Cri.sp. Virginia has ever felt toward 
Mr. Crisp an aflfection akin to that entertained for one of her 
own distinguished sons. Wlien the storms of the late civil 
war burst over tliis countr\-, Mr. Cki.si', then a }outli in 
Virginia, enlisted in one of her regiments, and became a 



78 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

gallant and brave soldier in defense of her soil. These 
years of his, consisting of triumphs and privations, of 
glory and disappointments, are interwoven with the history 
of Virginia and lier sons. No section rejoiced more than 
she at his increasing success and fame; now in mourning 
his loss she is second to none. 

jVIr. Speaker, Emerson, one of the greatest of American 
thinkers and writers, has said : 

A man's fortunes are the fruits of his character. A man's 
friends are his magnetisms. 

How fully is this truth illustrated in the life of Vlx. 
Crisp. His life was one crowned with great fortune, 
blessed with friends innumerable. Thus we find in him 
a sterling, honest character, a strong masculine mind, 
blended with a warm, generous, magnetic heart. To be 
great and to be loved as much as admired, to wield great 
power and influential leadership, with each day bringing 
an increasing devotion, indicates the possession of tlie 
highest order of intellect, the very best qualities of heart. 
Mr. Crisp possessed all this. No leader ever enjoyed in 
a greater degree the combined confidence and affection of 
his followers than Mr. Crisp did that of his party asso- 
ciates in this House. We all felt he was our individual 
friend and our matchless party leader. We shall ever hold 
his personal traits in loving remembrance, his public career 
in proud recollection. Who can ever forget that straight, 
strong form, that handsome face, that unfailing courtesy, 
that warm grasp of the hand, that genial, pleasant smile, 
that carried sunshine and happiness wherever he went ? 

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Crisp will ever be remembered for 
his participation in exciting scenes and debates in this 
House which have become historical. Our memory and 
the imagination of our successors, aided by tradition and 



Address of Mr. Sicansott. 79 

history, will ever recall his wonderful powers as a parlia- 
mentary debater. With a voice at times slightly tinged 
with hesitancy, but clear, strong, and resonant, with a 
presence pleasing and attractive, with thoughts pertinent 
and incisive, a repartee quick and pointed; cool, calm, and 
collected amid the greatest excitement and passion, he was 
well equipped for the rough-and-tumble debates of this 
House, and it was in these that he showed himself pre- 
eminently great. This House has had few if any Speakers 
superior to him. He will be classed among its greatest 
and most noted. As Speaker, he presided with dignity 
and grace, transacted business promptly, decided points of 
order quickly, was firm and decisive. He was courteous, 
deferential, and fair to his political opponents. His whole 
public life is without spot or blemish. For four years as 
Speaker, an office in responsibility and power second only 
to that of the Presidency, he practically controlled the 
legislation of this country. He exercised the vast powers 
thus placed in his hands with prudent care, patriotically, 
and conscientiously, for what he conceived the best interest 
of his country. No corrupt job, no vicious, no unjust 
legislation ever received countenance from him. 

Mr. Speaker, the life of Mr. Crisp is instructive. It 
comes like an inspiration to the poor boy, situated as he 
was, possessed of high yearning, >et confronted with pov- 
erty and difficulties, and tells him not to despair, but to 
build high the pedestal of his ambition. It teaches the 
ambitious that great success and permanent fame can only 
come to those who have clean hands, pure hearts, and 
jjatriotic motives. It proclaims how a legislator can and 
should close his ears to the seductions of the rich few, 
but can and should listen to the heart beat of toiling and 
struggling humanit)'. 



8o Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



ADDRESS OF Mr, LACEY, 

Mr. IvACKY. Air. Speaker, it is fitting that in the hurry 
and bustle of jjublic affairs we should pause for a time and 
remember that all men are but mortal. The painful truth 
is thrust upon us from time to time as one of our associates 
falls out of the ranks. 

Our friend, whose death brings us again face to face with 
the great problem that we all in time must solve, had risen 
high among his fellow-men. There is but one official place 
among his countrymen higher than that to which he climbed. 

The Speakership, it has been often said, is the second 
place in this country in rank, if its power and influence be 
considered. The General Commanding the Army holds a 
more desirable place, because his office tenure is for life. 
The Chief Justice and Vice-President both take a higher 
rank theoretically, but the actual second place in the nation 
is that of the Speakership of the House of Representatives. 

All revenue bills must originate in the House, and that 
body in the most direct degree represents the people. Their 
term of office is so short that its members are kept in con- 
stant touch with the people. A member of Congress is 
elected in November and does not, except in case of an 
extra session, take his seat until thirteen months after his 
election. He has hardly entered upon his duties imtil the 
selection of his successor begins to be agitated. In every 
official act he is face to face with his constituents. 

The supreme position in a body of this kind is a leadership 
of the people themselves. 

The House contains 357 members, and so large a body 
would be hopelessly inefficient and unwieldy if great power 



Address of Air. Lacey. 8i 

were not lodged in the Speaker's hands. He selects the 
committees and designates the seniority of their members 
and even appoints their chairmen. The committee is the 
workshop of the House, and no member can accomplish any 
results in his legislation unless he is assigned to committees 
in which he is able to perform his chosen work. He is like 
an actor in a play who has been given a walking part if he 
is placed upon committees where he has no opportunities for 
action, or in a line of work for which he is unprepared or to 
which he is unadapted. 

The Speaker ma>-, in the very beginning of a session of 
Congress, place a member where he may have opportunities, 
or so shelve him that he can accomplish nothing. This 
power extends to the minority membership as well as to 
those of the dominant party, and its influence is felt in every 
Congressional district in the Union. 

But the power of the Speaker does not end here. He has 
the right to recognize members upon the floor and he may 
refuse to do so, and there is no redress. He can shape the 
course of legislation by giving opportunities to present the 
measures which he may approve. He is the chairman of 
the Committee on Rules, and this committee is composed 
of only five members, three of whom are of his own party. 
In selecting this committee he is practically enabled to 
bring forward any measure he may wish at almost any time, 
and the House can only prevent action by voting against 
the present consideration of the proposed measure. 

U.sually less than lo per cent of all the proposed legisla- 
tion in Congress is ever considered at all, owing to the 
enormous amount of business brought before that body. 

This being the case, of necessity there nuist be a power 

and discretion resting somewhere by which the necessary 
H. Doc. 255 6 



82 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

business may be selected and considered out of the great 
mass of the measures introduced. In the last Congress pre- 
sided over by Mr. Crisp, 11,797 Senate and House bills 
were presented, and of these, 563 public and 593 private bills 
were enacted into laws. Congress is generally entitled to 
more credit for the bills that it permits to die than for any 
other part of its work, so that the failure to consider bills is 
not usually an evil. The power of the Speaker to prevent 
legislation is therefore a most important function. The 
Speaker has the power to delegate his authority temporarily 
as presiding officer by selecting some other member for that 
purpose, and he also names the chairmen of the Committee 
of the Whole from time to time. 

New members are apt to chafe at first because of the extra- 
ordinary powers of the presiding officer, but upon further 
service they realize that in so large an organization, having 
such a multiplicity of important business, the system of 
which they complained at first is essential to the transaction 
of the business of the country. 

A Congress which must consider the appropriation and 
expenditure of from eight hundred to a thousand millions 
of dollars in two years must be under a complete system of 
rules, or they could not have sufficient time for their duties. 
But, with all his power, the Speaker is still the servant of 
the House, and constantly recognizes that fact. Strong and 
able men are almost invariably selected for this place, and 
they are almost always strong partisans. 

The responsibility of Congress to the people, and the fact 
that the Speaker himself must also stand for reelection in 
the near future, places him in a position where he must not 
abuse his power. He not only is in a place where his own 
future and that of most of the members is in his hands, but 
the future of his party is also largely dependent upon the 



Address of Mr. Laccy. 83 

wisdom and skill with which he exercises his important 
prerogatives. He can shape the course of his part\- witli 
almost as much certainty as the President himself. 

The speakership of the English House of Commons, on 
the other hand, is not political, but is rather judicial in its 
character. The ministry upon the floor of that chamber 
are responsible to the House and to the country, and the 
Speaker's duties are more like those of a mere presiding 
officer in a court of justice. 

All who have seen service in this House will readih' con- 
cede to our presiding officer a place second only to that of 
the President of the United States. 

Mr. Crisp's first term of office followed immediatelv after 
the Fifty-first Congress, where the powers of the office had 
been so fully demonstrated by Speaker Reed. The atten- 
tion of the country had been called in an unusual degree to 
the Speaker's chair, and Mr. Crisp took the place at a time 
when the people looked upon the office with a full appreci- 
ation of its importance. Having personally assailed the 
prerogatives of the position when in the minority, he was 
embarrassed in his first term by his own utterances in debate. 
But in his second term, when his party was distracted by 
questions which almost threatened its existence, he was 
compelled to exercise to the uttermost the very powers that 
lie Iiad so severely criticised, even adopting, in a modified 
form, the same rules that had gi\-en a nickname to his 
Republican predecessor. 

Speaker Crisp was too great a man to allow the reins to 
slip from tlie hands of liis party in the mere effort to be 
consistent. He recognized the necessity of adopting meth- 
ods which would enable the dominant jiarty to enact the 
measures for which that party must answer to this countr\-. 
Those who served with him knew how abh- he conducted 



84 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

himself iu the most trying and difficult positions iu which 
he had been placed. 

While the Speaker's chair is the seat of influence, yet in 
a stirring popular assembly it is the object of constant par- 
tisan assault, and he whose memory we commemorate to-day 
in turn was the attacking and the assaulted party. But it 
is one of the pleasant features of parliamentary life that 
partisan foes are so often personal friends. Mr. Crisp 
loved a good fighter, and was a hard hitter himself. 

His career is a striking example of the possibilities of 
life in our Republic. 

In the Fifty-third Congress Galusha A. Grow was sworn 
in by Speaker Crisp as a member at large from the State of 
Pennsylvania. This was an impressive act, and brought 
into comparison two great periods in the history of our 
people. In 1861 Mr. Grow was chosen as the war-time 
Speaker of this House. Mr. Crisp was then a young lieu- 
tenant in a company of Confederate infantry, and the civil 
war was raging with all its fury. 

In 1864 Mr. Crisp was a prisoner of war, and was not 
released until after hostilities had ceased, in June, 1865. 
Now, after thirty years, the veteran statesman from Penn- 
sylvania returned again to the Halls of Congress, and the 
young lieutenant of 1861 had become the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives of our reunited country and 
administered the oath of office to his predecessor, the ex- 
Speaker of that Congress which had enacted the measures 
to prosecute the war. 

Who could say in the face of such an event as this that 
we have not laid aside the prejudice and bitterness of the 
stuggle of 1861? 

And as a citizen of Iowa I wish to lay a tribute upon the 
tomb of the gallant Georgian, remembering only that we 



Address of Mr. Laccy. 85 

were both in a higher sense fellow-citizens of the United 
States of America. 

My first service in this House was on the Elections Com- 
mittee with our deceased friend, in the heated and stormy 
sessions of the Fifty-first Congress. Election contests are 
proverbial for the partisan feeling that they engender. 

Mr. Crisp on these occasions showed himself a sturdy 
partisan, and it was in these controversies that he won 
the influence with his party associates that brought him 
to the Speaker's chair in the succeeding Congress. He was 
a good parliamentarian, subtle, quick-witted, and always 
ready for any occasion that might arise, and his party friends 
rallied around him with that instinct which teaches men 
to involuntarily recognize a leader. 

In his private relations he was an agreeable and pleasing 
gentleman, and made friends on both sides of this Chamber 
at a time when the political forces were nearly equally 
divided and when party feeling ran high. But all his con- 
flicts of the past — in the tented field, at the bar, on the 
hustings, and in the Halls of Congress — are ended. Already 
pointed out by common consent for a certain election to a 
seat in the Senate, he was struck down in the very zenith of 
his career, mourned by those who knew him, of all parties. 

It was a graceful and gracious act on the part of the 
generous people of his old district to elect his son and 
namesake to fill the seat which his death had rendered 
vacant, and this pleasing circumstance showed how strong 
a hold he had upon the constituency which he had so long 
represented, and how fully they appreciated the beauty 
and purity of his private life and domestic relations. 

The applause with which members of all parties greeted 
the son upon taking the oath of oflSce showed in what kindly 
remembrance the\- held the sire. 



86 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



Address of Mr. Bell. 

Mr. Bell. Mr. Speaker, during the latter part of October, 
1896, while crossing the plains of Nebraska, I glanced at 
a morning paper. My eyes immediately fastened upon a 
familiar picture, with an inscription below, "Ex-Speaker 
Crisp is dead!" That .sad announcement was followed 
bv the crowding upon me of the man)' reasons he had for 
coveting a long life. I was forcibly reminded that nature 
had generously given him a comely and commanding pres- 
ence ; that his nature had been formed into such a happy 
blending of sunshine, good-fellowship, and frank hospital- 
ity that his society was greatly sought, and life should have 
been to him an unbroken pleasure ; that through his many 
commendable attributes he had become preeminently the 
favored son of his own great State, and was in sight of the 
goal of his political ambition — the United States Senate — 
when death overtook him and ended earthly ambition. 
But sad as these misfortunes are for him and his immediate 
friends, the calamity is infinitely more deplorable as a great 
public less. 

The death of an individual rarely disturbs the general 
current of the orderly course of human action, but occa- 
sionally one does fall by the wayside who leaves such a 
void as is difficult to fill. Such a one we lament to-day. 
His mental alignment approximated perfect equilibrium. 
No one facultj' had been dwarfed to give a surplus to others. 
Therefore he never startled the world with any phenom- 
enal outburst of genius, nor did he ever disappoint his 
friends by descending to mediocrity. He was of the solid, 



Address of Mr. Bell. 87 

even-tempered, well-balanced order of men to whom only 
can the safety and perpetuity of a great country be confi- 
dentK- intrusted. 

It is true he was imbued with a laudable ambition to 
serve his countrymen in public places, not for pecuniary 
compensation, as mercenary aspirations were beneath his 
high standard. He was not ambitious that he might revel 
in the glare of official society, as such were too empty and 
sterile for his strong common-sense view of the real pleas- 
ures and amenities of human life. He sought to serve his 
fellows because they evinced a desire for his services and 
because he believed that he could serve them well, and he 
believed that his policies enacted into law would inure to the 
greatest good to the greatest and most deserving number. 

The Populist party in Congress, for whom I speak as 
well as for myself, has every reason to pay high tribirte 
to his memory. While Speaker, we were few in number, 
misunderstood, and grossly misrepresented by politicians 
and the partisan press, often intentionally, and more fre- 
quently through ignorance of our intentions and aspira- 
tions; but he was too large to be tainted with bigotry or 
intolerance, the worst enemies of mankind. He never 
wavered a hair's breadth in doing us complete justice at 
all times. We never visited him at his private apartments 
that his easy geniality and open hospitality did not con- 
vince us that he fully recognized that he was Speaker of 
the whole House. We never approached him in the 
Speaker's chair that the hand of good-fellowship and some 
friendly verbal greeting was not extended. He never 
denied our petitions without giving such cogent reasons 
therefor and in so becoming a manner that we acquiesced 
in the conclusion that he could not be expected to do less. 



88 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

He granted our applications in such an unostentatious 
manner that we were sent away feeling that a right and 
not a favor had been granted. 

He possessed none of the elements of the bigot — never 
fastened any doors between him and the public. He 
preferred to be with and of the people. None knew 
better than he the danger of tyrannical majorities visiting 
oppression and injustice on struggling minorities. He was 
never a representative of an\- special class or section of the 
country. He was a statesman of the highest and purest 
type, and a representative of the whole people of the 
whole countn,'. In this matchless contest for the suprem- 
acy of the people the loss of such a representative, so pure 
a type of the founders of this Government, is indeed a 
great public calamity. When I returned to Washington 
and met the colored boy who used to care for his room, 
with moistened eyes, he said, " We have sustained a great 
loss since you went away in the death of Speaker Crisp," 
and added, "Everything that knew that man loved him." 

That is greater eulog)- than I am capable of pronounc- 
ing. After all is said and done, the real character of a 
man is most truly photographed and known in his home 
life and by those who serve him. 



Address of Mr. Wheeler. 89 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Wheeler. 

]\Ir. Wheeler. ^Ir. Speaker, when the Angel of Death 
received the spirit of Charles Frederick Crisp, a man 
was taken from this world who had won the love of his 
State, the confidence and admiration of the entire South, 
and the respect of our whole country. As a native Georgian, 
I take special pride in the great distinction achieved by him 
whose death we mourn. 

Mr. Crisp always performed every duty in a most credit- 
able manner. When little more than a boy, he was a brave 
soldier and officer in the Army of Northern Virginia, follow- 
ing the sword of Robert E. Lee in the many battles fought 
by that illustrious commander. With the return of peace 
he retired to his home and became a lawyer, respected 
for his ability, learning, and fidelity. .\s solicitor-general 
of his district and as judge of one of the superior courts of 
Georgia, he earned the highest commendations. 

He was twice elected to preside over the popular branch 
of the Congress of the United States, and during a service 
of fourteen years in this body he certainly reached a most 
exalted place among the statesmen of America. His repu- 
tation as a parliamentarian and a just presiding officer had 
extended throughout the civilized world. 

While in the midst of the performance of these high 
duties, he was appointed and urged by the governor of 
Georgia to accept a seat in the Senate of the United States, 
but his high conception of the duty he owed to those who 
had elected him to preside over this body constrained him 
to decline the proffered honor; but the people of Georgia, 
appreciating his noble character and superb qualities, seized 
the first opportunity after the expiration of his term as 
Speaker to do him honor, and with almost unprecedented 



go Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

unanimity elected him to the office which but a short time 
before he had felt it his duty to decline — the highest office 
in their gift — one which he was qualified in an eminent 
degree to adorn; but just as the decree of the people was to 
be recorded, it was met by the dread messenger, Death. 

Well may it be said of him, right worthily he fought 
life's battle and won his way to fame; and the people who 
loved to honor hiui in life will revere and cherish his mem- 
ory in death, and his name will be arrayed among those 
illustrious statesmen of Georgia who did their full part in 
perfecting the system of government which has built up 
this great and prosperous Republic. 

In the midst of his strength and usefulness, before age 
had made slow his footstep, or chilled the warmth of his 
heart, or dimmed the brightness of his eye, or withered the 
brilliancy of the intellect which had served his country and 
his State so long and so well, surrounded by the shadows 
and hills and sunshine of his own beloved Georgia, in the 
midst of his countrymen and the beloved family which 
knew his greatness best of all, he fought his last battle 
with sickness and pain, and answered to the roll call of the 
Great Captain, and passed from the mystery of this life upon 
earth into that greater life "whose portals we call death," 
though there can be no death to those who leave their 
names enshrined in the hearts of their countrymen. 

In our journey of life, in the Halls of Congress, in his old 
accustomed place, in the sunny vales of his home in the far 
Southland, we shall greet Charles Frederick Crisp no 
more. He has met his "Pilot face to face," and has crossed 
over the river and is at "rest under the shade of the trees." 

I can but echo the words of one who knew him well: 
"Over his dreaming face, in the shadow of the Georgia 
hills, we say good night to him, but good morning to his 
enduring fame." 



Address of Mr, IVoodard. 91 



Address of Mr. Woodard, 

Mr. Woodard. Mr. Speaker, it is a loving service to 
those who knew, valued, and honored him, to speak in mem- 
ory of the life and character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

As a private soldier, he was brave and faithful; as judge 
of the superior court, he shed luster upon the judiciary of 
his State; as a member of Congress, he was long the trusted 
leader of his party; as Speaker, he was a master of parlia- 
mentary procedure, a model presiding officer, firm and reso- 
lute, but always courteous; with an attractive personality-, 
indomitable courage, great prudence, an earnest partisan 
because he believed the policies of his party, if enacted 
into laws, would redound to the honor and welfare of 
his country ; a statesman in its best and broadest sense, his 
party and his country have sustained a great loss in his 
untimely death. 

I do not propose, Mr. Speaker, to review in detail the 
early histor>' or services of Mr. Crisp. That has been done 
by others who have known him longer, and who have in 
appropriate and eloquent words portrayed his exalted worth 
as a citizen, his valuable services to his party and country. 

I first met him at the beginning of the Fifty-third Con- 
gress, when I entered upon my service as a member of this 
House, and my admiration for his ch?.racter as a man and 
as a statesman increased with the passing years. 

When but a bo)% only 16 years of age, animated by that 
patriotic spirit which followed him through life, we find him 
a volunteer soldier in the Confederate Army, where he served 
until the end of the war. Immediately after its close he 



92 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

commenced the study of law, and in a few years attained a 
high rank in his chosen profession. He was elected solicitor- 
general and judge of the superior court, and while on the 
bench was elected to Congress. He had served in the House 
but a short time when his conspicuous ability pointed him 
out, as if by intuition, as the leader of his party on the 
floor. Having been assigned by common consent to that 
honorable and responsible position, it was manifest that he 
was a born leader, equal to ever}' emergency, always ready, 
always wise, always able, and ever true to his convictions 
of duty. While possessed of that firmness and true courage 
so necessary to constitute a successful leader, Mr. Crisp was 
withal a modest gentleman, and never forgot the amenities 
and courtesies due his opponents. On all occasions he 
exhibited those manly and gentle virtues which never fail 
to win our warmest admiration and tenderest regard. 

In the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses he was 
elected Speaker of this House, and in that delicate and 
responsible position he more than sustained his justly earned 
reputation for ability, firmness, fairness, and courtesy. His 
record as presiding officer will compare favorably with that 
of the most distinguished parliamentarians who preceded 
him. In every position he was called upon to fill, Mr. 
Crisp measured up to the fullest expectations of his friends, 
and his whole life affords a bright example for the young 
men of our country to emulate. 

As a soldier, as a citizen, as a judge, as a member of Con- 
gress, as Speaker, as the great leader of a great party, he 
was ever faithful to himself, to his people, to his party, to 
his country, and to his Maker. Those high, noble, and sin- 
cere virtues which made Mr. Crisp a conspicuous leader in 
American politics and constituted him a pure and unsullied 



Address of Mr. Woodard. 93 

statesman were a part of his nature, and they appear with 
equal beauty and brightness in his private character. In 
all the private and social relations of life the same purity of 
character, honesty of purpose, and noble aspirations which 
distinguished his public life made him a model citizen, a 
true and constant friend, a loving and tender husband, an 
affectionate father, and a Christian gentleman. 

It was my fortune, Mr. Speaker, to be constanth- asso- 
ciated with him during the last four years, as we boarded 
at the same hotel in this city. The more I saw of him the 
more I appreciated his high qualities and the beauties and 
virtues of his private life. During the latter part of the 
first session of this Congress the health of Mr. Crisp 
became impaired, but his friends hoped his suffering would 
be only temporary. After adjournment he sought relief 
in the pure and invigorating climate of western North 
Carolina; but the disease which had attacked him was 
a fatal malady, and his indomitable will and brave heart 
strusreled in vain against the inevitable result. Death 
came to him in the very zenith of his career. It came to 
him when his party and country seemed to be in special 
need of his wise counsel and safe leadership. It came when 
he was so soon to receive at the hands of a grateful people 
the high office which had been the ambition of his life. 
Why should he have been taken at this time? \Vc would 
not question God's providences, so mysterious in so many 
ways. Beautifully has it been said by another: 

There is an existence beyond the present life where all shall be 
made clear. We .shall see as we are seen ; we shall know even 
as we are known. Mr. Dickens made the poor, idiotic Barnaby 
and the coarse, strons? Hugh, of the Maypole Inn, hold com-er- 
sation about the visible wonders of the heavens, and they 
inquire of each other whence comes the light of the imuniierable 



94 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

stars that dot the skies. When they were both under sentence 
of death, and just before the dawn of day were led across the 
prison yard toward the place of execution, Barnaby, looking 
upward toward the myriad lights of the night, exclaims: 
" Hugh, we shall know what makes the stars shine now." 

Our faith here to-day ought to exceed that of the poor 
simpleton created by the imagination of the novelist. Not 
only shall we know what makes the stars shine, but all 
the wonders of the vast universe shall be open to our 
search. Our homes shall be among the heavens; the prob- 
lems that our burdened souls have studied so despairingly 
shall be happily solved, and we may even become partici- 
pators in the knowledge and power of Him — 

whose power o'er moving worlds presides, 
Whose voice created and whose wisdom guides. 

To this felicity the friend we now with tenderness 

remember has already fully advanced. We would not, if 

we could, bring him back to earth, slowly and painfully to 

die again. We wait, reverently and hopefully, for the 

summons to us to join him in some star that is shining, 

from eternity to eteruit)-, with unfading luster in God's 

illimitable wilderness of worlds. 



Address of Mr. Layloii. 95 



ADDRESS OF Mr. LAYTON. 

j\Ir. Layton. Mr. Speaker, what is an ideal man? Who 
is a perfect man? Who can fully describe him? Where 
can he be found? These questions present a fruitful and 
varied iield for the writer and speaker, so broad and varied 
in fact that I do not deem it wise or appropriate to enter 
thereon or therein save only for the purpose of making a 
few observations this afternoon more or less pertinent to the 
occasion. 

Hence I would inquire, What is your ideal of an Ameri- 
can statesman? Where say you he can be found? How 
would vou describe him to your hearers? Have }'ou ever 
seen his counterpart? Is he now living or dead? vShould 
these inquiries be addressed to myself, I would be con- 
strained to answer in substance: I have never yet seen in its 
entirety my ideal of an American statesman; neither do I 
know where he can be found, nor can I fully or satisfactorily 
describe him to you. Yet I well remember one who came 
so near to my ideal that I do not now hesitate to accept him 
as such; but with a sadness I can but illy express, I would 
say he is no longer living. 

Perhaps ray ideal is too exalted. Perhaps in fact he never 
existed, can not, nor ever will. If so, I much regret it, for 
as I now view it in the light of more or less intercourse and 
association with manv of our American statesmen, during 
the last six years especially, I do not regard my ideal as 
unreasonable or impossible of attainment. And as an 
American citizen who loves and admires her men and her 
institutions and believes in her continuing progress and 



96 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

advancement, it affords me great pleasure to say that, while 
none of her statesmen of my acquaintance come up to the 
exact mark or line, yet many come so near it that I shall 
ever refer to the fact with pride and satisfaction. So near 
have so many come to this exacting ideal that I can have 
no fear for the future growth and welfare of our now great 
Republic under their continuing care and guidance. 

In m\- humble judgment, an ideal, a real American 
statesman, in these times especially, when aristocracy and 
plutocracy are so freely referred to and censured, should 
at all times be purely democratic in his ways, manner, and 
conduct with all his fellow-men, and yet always dignified. 
He should of course, be educated, able, and intellectual. 
He should never be a demagogue. He should be affable 
and pleasant and still dignified. He should be firm and 
decisive, yet considerate and forbearing, especially with 
his inferiors in intellect and experience. He should not 
be sarcastic to individuals, no matter how caustic he may be 
in his references to criticism of classes or parties, and above 
and beyond all, unselfishness and patriotism should guide 
and control his every public utterance and action. We 
doubtless have had in the past and now have many Ameri- 
can statesmen who fulfill most of these requirements, if not 
quite all. I can pay no higher or more just tribute to the 
memory of Charles Frederick Crisp than to say that, 
taking him all in all, he came nearer doing so than any 
other with whom I have ever had the honor of an acquaint- 
anceship. None who knew him well will resent this state- 
ment or take offense thereat. He was always manly and 
dignified in his manner and conduct, yet ever affable and 
plea.sant, whether on the floor of this House, in the com- 
mittee room, in the Speaker's chair, on the street, in public 



Address of Mr. Layton. 97 

gatherings, or in liis own household. He was always posi- 
tive and firm in his convictions and opinions, and yet ever 
kind and considerate with those who might differ with him. 
In all matters he was totally unselfish, and true patriotism — 
the general welfare of his country' — seemed to guide him in 
all his official conduct. He was not a great orator, but was 
a great, concise debater. As a husband and father, he 
was ever loving, kind, and gentle. Those who knew him 
best appreciated him the most. 

Term after term the people of his Congressional district 
returned him to Congress with an almost unanimous voice. 
In the Fifty-second Congress, when his j^art}- came in power, 
he was elected to the high and important office of Speaker 
of this House — the most important position in the Union 
next to that of President. The Firty-third Congress again 
so honored him without any opposition from his own party. 
He administered the office with great abilit)- and impar- 
tiality. At the beginning of the present Congress he was 
honored by his party associates as their choice for the same 
position. While serving in this exalted position the gov- 
ernor of his State, in willing obedience to the wishes of the 
people, tendered him the Senatorship by appointment to fill 
a vacancy in the United States Senate. And yet, while 
desiring the position thus so kindly offered him, he promptly 
declined the appointment on the sole and patriotic ground 
that he could serve his coimtry and party the better by 
retaining the Speakership. Soon afterwards he was duly 
recommended as a candidate for the United States Senate 
by his party in Georgia with substantial unanimity. But, 
alas, before he could take his seat therein, ruthless Death 
cut him down. But recentl)- his young but worthy son, 
Charles R. Crisp, was elected a member of this Hou.se 
H. Doc. 255 7 



98 Life attd Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

without opposition to succeed his illustrious father and fill 
out his unexpired term in this Congress. On the first day 
of this session Mr. Crisp's untimely death was acknowl- 
edged by an appropriate resolution, followed by immediate 
adjournment for the day in honor of his memory. All, 
regardless of section or party, conceded that his premature 
death in the prime of his nianhood was a great loss to his 
State and the nation. No man, no newspaper, said an un- 
kind word of him, but all, as we are now doing, sincerely 
regret and mourn his loss. Indeed may we say: 

None knew him but to love him, 
None named him but to praise. 

Ohio mourns with Georgia over the loss of her distin- 
guished son. 

To every American citizen who desires or intends to fol- 
low public official life I most sincerely commend the life, 
character, and historv' of Mr. Crisp. May we, our children, 
and our children's children ever emulate his noble example. 



Address of Mr. Bankhcad. 99 



Address of Mr. Bankhead. 

Mr. Bankhead. Mr. Speaker, to-day we stop for a brief 
season the onward current of our everyday duties to pay 
tribute to one who in life was most himself when engaged, 
as we are daily engaged, in the business and affairs of this 
House. In the death of Chari.es Frederick Crisp, rep- 
resentative life in America lost one of its most brilliant 
ornaments and our nation one of its purest and most exalted 
statesmen. 

vStanding now in this presence, about to speak my words 
of tribute to our dead friend and associate, I feel crowding 
on me emotions of peculiar sadness. All the keen pain 
and anguish that touched my heart at the immediate occa- 
sion of his death are renewed, and what I would say is 
almost stayed. In our greetings and farewells we have no 
set and studied phrases. When we grasp the hand of one 
we may not have seen for years, or come to part with 
one we may never see again, then it is that speech is hollow 
and but .sound, and the beaming eyes, the quivering lips, 
the whole face give expression to an emotion beyond the 
reach of words. 

Sir, when Mr. Crisp died, he had barely passed the half- 
century mark. Born in the year 1845, educated in tlie 
common schools of his vState, a mere lad of 16 he entered 
the Confederate Army. From his enlistment in May, 1861, 
to his capture in May, 1864, he was a brave soldier, win- 
ning the confidence and love of his superiors. He knew 
the true import of the word duty, and all his subsequent 
career shows the influence on his life of the rigorous 



lOO Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

discipline of active warfare. Of the part he took in tliis 
mighty conflict I know how he felt, and that feeling I find 
embodied in the tribnte paid by the distinguished Senator 
from Ohio [Mr. Sherman] on the late Senator Randall 
Lee Gibson, of Louisiana: 

We have come to regard this fierce and sans;ninar>' struggle 
as an inheritance from our fathers, growing out of an honest 
difference of opinion as to the framework of our Government. 
Poor human nature could provide no arbitrator to settle this 
contention, but now that it has been settled by a sacrifice of 
life and treasure almost unexampled in human history, it can 
be truly said that the result is heartily acquiesced in, and that 
no slumbering fires can rise from the ashes of the civil war to 
disturb the unity, integrity, and power of this great Republic. 

One year after the close of hostilities found him admitted 
to the bar and located at Ellaville, Ga., in the practice of the 
law, called by Burke " one of the first and noblest of human 
sciences." For six years he toiled at his profession, strug- 
gling as its younger members do with an effort to build up 
a paying practice. However, in 1872 his success had won 
him the first of the series of offices which was to end by his 
being the choice of the Empire State of the South for 
Senator in the United States Congress. In this year he 
was appointed solicitor-general of the southwestern judicial 
circuit, and after a twelvemonth he was reappointed for four 
years. In 1873 he removed to Americus, where he spent 
the remainder of his life. From 1877 to 1882 he was one 
of the superior court judges. The latter year closed his 
professional work as an active practitioner. These sixteen 
years of his life represent a career full of interest. He was 
a successful lawyer. His ability commanded his first office 
and enabled him to hold it. As an advocate he was earnest 
and fearless. Transferred to the bench, his facilities easily 



Address of Mr. Bankhcad. loi 

adjusted themselves to the severe exactions of the position, 
and he was all that is looked for in the term an "upright 
and a just judge." 

Taking his seat in the Forty-eighth Congress, he early 
assumed that prominent place and developed those splendid 
qualities of leadership which won for him the Speaker's 
chair of the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses. His 
life and work here are known and read of all men. I know 
that I am in the limits of exact statement when I say that 
there are no acts of his while in this body that will not 
stand the test of the most searching criticism. In his rela- 
tions with his fellow-members he was always genial and 
pleasant. He seemed always happy; and while he might 
be leading a galloping charge on this floor, his natural 
manner never became offensive, and at its conclusion his 
perennial humor and serene temper returned. In his work 
as a Representative he was always busy, and no duty did 
he leave i:nperformed if possible of attention. His con- 
stituents had unbounded confidence and trust in him and 
in his power to serve them. 

Perhaps it was in his course as Speaker in this body that 
he displayed qualities of a higher order than in any other 
field. His ability as a parliamentarian was remarkable. 
In his incumbenc)' of this exalted seat and in his adminis- 
tration of its duties he won the admiration of his political 
opponents and was the idol of his friends. He was essen- 
tially fair and just. It was his desire to do right, and this 
he did at all times, as he conceived it. Quick, decisive, 
impartial, unfailing in resource, he must be ranked with 
his greatest predecessors. 

While he was a good soldier, a successful lawyer, a 
learned judge, and a leader in the greatest representative 



102 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

assembly in the world, it is as a Christian gentleman he 
mnst be accorded the greatest honor. In his home life, 
which I can not here invade, he was the devoted, tender, 
and loving husband, and the ever fond, indulgent parent. 
I was first attracted to him because of his orderly habits of 
life and his loyal love of his home. Day by day I saw him 
come and go, in the Halls of Congress, in his intercourse 
with the world, in the bosom of his family, and I saw in 
his life the well-nigh perfect man. 

But he is gone from us now. In a little while we should 
have seen him take his seat in the other end of the Capitol, 
but instead he has gone up higher, "to where, beyond these 
voices, there is peace." The journey done, he is resting 
now; he is sleeping the sleep that knows no waking, care- 
less alike of the day dawn or the twilight. For him the 
dark night of death was the sunburst of an eternal hereafter. 

I will not say, God's ordinance 

Of death is blown in every wind, 
For that is not a common chance 

That takes away a noble mind. 

His memory long will live alone 

In all our hearts, as mournful light 
That broods above the fallen sun 

And dwells in heaven half the night. 



Address of Mr. McLaurin. 103 



ADDRESS OF Mr, McLaurin. 

^Ir. McLaurin. Mr. vSpeaker, no man can foretell the 
mysterious issues of life and death. Few who saw Charles 
Frederick Cri?p at the close of the last session thought 
that death would so soon cast its pale shadow upon that 
apparently robust body and vigorous mind. 

How uncertain is the future ! To-da)- life is bright, the 

sea is calm, the tide swells high and strong. To-morrow 

the tide turns; business trouble, sickness, or death robs us of 

hope and pleasure. From the calm and beautiful harbor 

where we floated so confidently we are rudely tossed out 

upon the wide ocean. The horizon stretches far beyond 

our vision, and the heave of its restless waves comes from 

depths that are unfathomable. Vainly struggling, we 

either sink to the tranquil depths, where all is peace, or, 

tempest-torn and faint, are cast upon the shore. Well 

may the poet exclaim : 

What is life? A brief delight; 
A sun, scarce brightening ere it sink in night; 
A flower, at morning fresh, at noon (lec?yed; 
A still, swift river, gliding into shade. 

The man who would know its true secret must learn to 
live "in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; in feel- 
ings, not in figures on a dial" — to count time in heart 
throbs. He most lives who thinks most, feels noblest, acts 

best. 

I think Mr. Crisp grasped the true meaning of life and 
lived "in deeds, not years; thoughts, not breaths." 

The first time I saw him, the thing that struck me most 
forcibly was the strong, cheerful, and kindly expression of 
his face. He had a hearty, genial manner, with a pleasant 



I04 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

smile and kind word for everyone. I can well believe 
that in tlie home circle he was gentle, tender, and consid- 
erate ; his sunny nature must have gladdened the hearts 
and lives of those who were traveling the journey with 
him. It is, however, for those more intimate to speak of 
him in private life. As a colleague from a sister State, it is 
simply my wish to pay a brief but sincere tribute to him as 
a public man. Those who differed with him politically 
will testify that, while firm in his convictions, he was gen- 
erous and tolerant of the opinion of others, while those of 
us who accepted his leadership will say that, like Joseph 
of Arimathea, "He was a just man and good counsellor." 

For the great, patient, toiling masses he had an active and 
sincere sympathy. He never lost sight of the fact that he 
was a public servant, sent here to represent the will of the 
majority. He was an ideal Representative, never imagining 
himself wiser than the collective thought of the people who 
sent him here. He was in close touch with his people, with 
a thorough knowledge of their sentiments upon all public 
questions ; and, after all, true statesmanship in a representa- 
tive government simply means the needs and wishes of the 
people translated into law. The people love and appreciate 
a faithful representative. What a graceful and touching 
compliment they paid Mr. Crisp. 

When death came, they sent his son to occupy his vacant 
chair in this House. Indeed, there was no more beautiful 
sight than the almost brotherly confidence and intimacy that 
seemed to exist between this father and son, and the people 
of Georgia honored themselves in paying such a tribute to 
the memory of their dead. I am sure that the mantle fell 
upon worthy shoulders, and that the trust will be regarded 
sacred by his successor and namesake. 



Address of Mr. McLaurhi. 105 

It was while engaged in a canvass of his State for the 
Senatorsliip that the premonitory symptoms were felt of 
that disease which ended his life. Although apparently 
sound and vigorous, he probably had full knowledge of 
this vital weakness, but he did not allow it to deter him 
from his work. I met him day after day in the committee 
room, cheerful and confident, while he was always at his 
post on the floor of the House, j^rompt and vigilant. It 
may literally be said that "he died in the liarness." We 
are told that when that knight of old, without fear or 
reproach, Chevalier Bayard, was wounded unto death, he 
commanded his attendants to prop him up against a tree 
with his face to the enemy ; he then, after taking the sacra- 
ment, died with this beautiful sentiment on his lips: "The 
justice of Almighty God will be tempered by the blood 
of our Lord Jesus Christ." With a character as pure and 
spotless, with a courage as chivalrous, and a like trust in 
the justice and mercy of the same God, died, without fear 
or reproach, this gallant knight of a modern day. 

The State of Georgia, Mr. Speaker, has been prolific in 
great men. At the mention of her name the mind reverts 
to Alexander H. Stephens, the conservative and sagacious 
statesman; to Ben Hill, the eloquent and gifted orator; 
to the lion-like and majestic Toombs, with his fiery and irre- 
sistible logic; but, sir, great as are these, Mr. Crlsp is 
well worthy a place in their ranks. The times did not 
afford him the same opportunity to display the most striking 
qualities of statesmanship that they did Stephens, and his- 
tory may not accord him as high rank; in the realms of 
oratory he was not, perhaps, the equal of Toombs or Hill, 
but as an allround man — statesman, orator, and debater — 
he was the peer of Georgia's greatest. Of great practical 



io6 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

common sense, modest, imperturbable, evenly poised, and 
cool, it was impossible to throw him off his balance. 

As the representative of a powerful majority, wielding the 
Speaker's gavel, he was impartial, courteous, and kind; as 
the leader of the minority, he was cautious, tactful, and 
ready of resource, and it seemed to me that his masterly 
qualities were never better displayed than in the latter role. 
He had a clear, clean-cut, incisive style, with an entire 
absence of attempt at display. In a calm, sensible, business- 
like manner, he went right to the marrow of a question. 

He inspired confidence, and men trusted Mr. Crisp and 
accepted his leadership because they knew that he would 
never say or do a foolish thing nor be caught in an untenable 
position. Preeminently a safe man, it could be confidently 
counted upon that he would say the right thing at the right 
time and do the right thing in the right place. Fully devel- 
oped mentally, physically, and morally, he was ready for and 
equal to ever>' emergency. No one in this House ever saw 
him on any occasion, however difficult, when he did not meet 
the requirements in every respect. He saw in an instant a 
weakness in the position of an adversary, and his thorough 
knowledge of parliamentary usage enabled him to seize 
every advantage. Under the most trying circumstances he 
fully met and often exceeded the expectation of his friends. 

Mr. Speaker, it is in such an hour as this, when the great 
and powerful are cut short in the midst of their career, that 
we are most forcibly reminded of our weakness and depend- 
ence upon God. Death is the great level er; he makes no 
distinction between prince and pauper. It is the same 
everywhere; in the humble cot or the bright palace, in the 
wild forest or the brilliant city, in the swamps or upon the 
mountain top, to the humble laborer or the great statesman, 



Address of Mr. McLaitrin. 107 

the same dread summons chills the blood and freezes the 
heart. Christ, and Christ alone, can dispel the pall of 
gloomy terror that hovers about the bed of death. The 
genius of man and the wisdom of the ages offer no other 
solution. The "Go in peace" and "Thy sins are forgiven 
thee" must be spoken to each, and is our safe retreat. 

It is not given to many to rise to the elevated position 
occupied by Mr. Crisp. All can not be eagles, but each of 
us has his work, great or small; and we are taught that the 
manner in which it is performed is of more account than the 
magnitude of the task accomplished. If the trend of our 
life is for good, if its course is ever upward and onward, if 
its thought and inspiration are in harmony with the purpose 
of Pro\ idence in creating us, however insignificant our work 
may appear to others, surely we shall find in the great final 
day of account that we have not lived and toiled in vain. 

As members of this House we lead here busy, active lives, 
and when we are at home the turmoil, strife, and jealousies 
of political rivalry leave little time to prepare for the 
"great beyond." It is well, therefore, on occasions of this 
character to pause a moment and draw home the solemn 
les.son each for himself. 

Let us not be unmindful of the fact that a great leader, 
one of the busiest in our number, yet found time to seek 
that peace which will sustain the faltering soul in that last 
dark hour and make it radiant with the never-dying hope of 
eternal life. Mr. Crisp was a consistent and faithful member 
of the Methodist Church. After all the triumphs which 
crowned a brilliant and successful career, I doubt not that 
if to-day his well-known voice could be heard in this Cham- 
ber he would reecho the dying words of the founder of his 
Church, John Wesley, " Best of all, the Lord is with us." 



io8 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

ADDRESS OF Mr, Mccreary. 

Mr. McCreary. Mr. Speaker, there is no arena which 

death does not invade. There is no place too sacred for 

its touch. There is nothing living on earth, no matter how 

great or small, how pure or vile, how rich or poor, but 

must finally succumb to the dread destroyer. There is 

always somewhere — 

Some heart that is bleeding, 
Some eje that is weeping, 
Some home that is draped, 
Some loved person dead. 

When our comrade dies, when our coworker is stricken 
down full of hope and high purposes and great achieve- 
ments, when he who has helped to make history and par- 
ticipated with us in the important legislation of our country 
is taken away in the prime and vigor of a splendid man- 
hood, when his ability, integrity, and devotion to the public 
weal are most appreciated and most needed, we realize fully 
that death is very near to us, and that our affliction is 
severe, and our country's loss is great. 

Others have given detailed accounts of the life and 
career of Charles Frederick Crisp. I shall speak 
mainly of his character and his services in the legislative 
forum, where I knew him best and where I respected and 
admired him as a leader and loved him as a friend. 

I first met him when I commenced my service as a Rep- 
resentative in Congress in 1885. My admiration for him 
grew as I became better acquainted with him, and I was 
deeply impressed with his genial, pleasant nature, and with 
the promptness and readiness with which he met every 
emergency. 



Address of Mr. McCrcary. 109 

I regarded liim as a noble type of American manhood, 
able, logical, self-made, and self-reliant, and always cour- 
teous, courageous, and true. 

He was firm and sincere in his convictions, faithful to 
his friends, liberal to his opponents, fair, just, and con- 
scientious, and unceasing in the discharge of his duties as 
a Representative. 

He was the faithful friend and champion of the people. 
He loved liberty, civil, political, and religious, and he was 
devoted to popular government. 

He was both a patriot and a philanthropist. No man 
gave greater and more continued evidence of his love of 
country, and no man was more prompt to aid a friend or 
give freely to the needy and deserving. 

He worked for what he regarded as the rights of the 
people, and did all in his power to protect the interests and 
promote the welfare and prosperity of the Republic, and the 
radiance of his integrity and the brightness of his honor 
were never assailed or questioned. 

He was devoted to his wife, his children, and his home, 
and no husband or father was ever the recipient of more 
love and respect. His family circle was full of affection and 
sweet communion, and here he illustrated how happy a 
man could be who was trying to do his duty to his God, his 
family, and his country. 

His life and achievements illustrated not only the splendid 
opportunities of our great Republic, but showed also the 
honorable success and great renown that will crown earnest 
efforts, strict integrity, and steadfast devotion to duty. 

The first and last conspicuous events in his life showed 
not only his courage, ability, and self-reliance, but also the 
confidence, admiration, and love lavished upon him b\- those 



no Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

who knew him best. At i6 years of age he proved his 
courage and self-reliance by enlisting as a soldier in the 
Confederate Army and bravely fighting until the close of 
the war for what he believed to be right. When he was 51 
years of age, the people of Georgia, who had for more than 
a quarter of a century' studied his public service and his 
fidelity to his State and nation, sought to confer upon him 
the highest honor in their gift by making him a United 
States Senator, and practically all of the State senators and 
representatives elected were instructed by the people to 
honor him with this great office; but his death prevented 
this great trust and well-merited distinction from being con- 
ferred upon him. 

His views on finance, taxation, education, commerce, agri- 
culture, an economical administration of the Government, 
the sovereignty of the people, and the independence of the 
coordinate departments of the Government, and on all other 
important questions presented, were often announced in 
strong and eloquent speeches, which are found in nearly 
every volume of the Congressional Record issued since his 
service as Representative commenced. 

As an earnest, fearless champion of Democracy, he was 
always ready to defend his party and his principles, and he 
loved to uphold and support the teachings and doctrines of 
Jefferson and Jackson. 

It was as Speaker of the HoUbC of Representatives he 
gained his highest honors and made himself most conspic- 
uous before the country. His knowledge of parliamentary 
law and procedure, his equipoise, and the ease, dignity, 
firmness, and fairness with which he presided made him 
popular with the members of all political parties and 
enabled him to conduct the business with order and dispatch. 



Address of Mr. McCrcary. iil 

I believe the dispassionate judg-ment of those over whom 
he presided for four years is that he is entitled to be remem- 
bered as one of the ablest and most accomplished of the 
Speakers of the House of Representatives. 

The history of Georgia is luminous with the names of 
brilliant, earnest, and faithful statesmen. Among the ablest 
and strongest of that great galaxy the name of Mr. Crisp 
has taken its permanent place. His fame does not belong 
to Georgia alone nor to the South, but to the whole 
Republic, and in Kentucky we will clierish his memor>', 
and his fame will survive along with that of the other 
dead statesmen, jurists, and heroes — Hill, Toombs, Colquitt, 
and Brown — who did so much to make Georgia conspicuotis 
and illustrious. 

It is written in one of the tender and beautiful legends 
which the Talmud has preserved that at the moment of the 
death of a good man memories of his love and charity and 
good deeds float through his mind to cheer and console him 
as his spirit soars away from the cares and conflicts, the 
joys and sorrows, of life. If this be true, our friend in his 
last moments, when the darkness of death was settling upon 
him and the first glimpse of immortality was beginning to 
be seen, had much to .soothe and comfort him. Reviewing 
his life, his early manhood, his mature years, he could see 
glittering and glistening along his way good deeds which 
benefited his fellow-men in the State and in the nation. 
He could see fidelity and devotion to loved ones at home; he 
could see charity and love, fragrant as flowers in spring-time, 
beautifying and chastening a life well spent in the .service 
of his God and his country, and at the end of it all I believe 
he could hear the welcome jilandit, "Well done, thou good 
and faithful .servant; enter tliou into tlie joy of thy Lord." 



112 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



Address of Mr. Wellington. 

Mr. Wellington. ^Nlr. Speaker, amid the lengthening 
shadows of this midwinter afternoon the Representatives of 
our nation have met to mourn the untimely ending of a 
great career. The strong voice of active legislation is at 
rest, the fierce contention of partisan debate is hu.shed, and 
in their stead solemn decorum and order reign. To-day we 
are concerned not with the living, in the present or the 
future, but the dead and the past. We call a halt in the 
march of life; we turn from the busy scenes and activities 
of living men to the grave that nestles with many others in 
distant Georgia, in that place set apart for the habitations 
of the dead; and, as we stand before it with sad and sorrow- 
ful mien, I would lay a simple flower there while others 
may place a wreath of amaranth upon it as a tribute to the 
memory of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

From the quiet portals of the grave there come none but 
"fond regrets and tender recollections." Resentments are 
forgotten, faults forgiven, and remembrance portrays to 
us in vivid pictures the virtues and noble actions of the 
departed. 

As we unroll the canvas of the last half century, whereon 
time hath painted in ineffaceable colors the life hi.story 
of the distinguished man whom we mourn, there are few 
foibles to condone and much that was noble to commend. 

The annals of a nation are written in the biography of its 
great men. The mass of the people have no history. The 
record of their lives is short and simple, and remains ever 
the same. They are born, they live, they die, and are for- 
gotten; generation after generation meets the same fate. 



Address of Mr. Wellington. 113 

We blunder through youth, struggle in manhood; and if 
perchance we are fortunate enough to reach old age, it is a 
scene of vain and unavailing regrets. But there are men 
who, by the force and power of talent or genius, indomi- 
table will, or never-ceasing perseverance, lift themselves 
above their fellows, and in the record of their lives write 
history for their people. Such a man was Mr. Crisp. 
Not a brilliant man, perhaps; not one whose name will 
flash with lustrous light, for he did not live in a time 
when splendid effulgence reigned. Yet when the records 
of this commonplace period of American national life are 
made up, his figure will stand out in bold relief as one who 
stood by his section, who partook of the bitterness of sec- 
tional strife, and yet was broad enough to rise above rancor, 
and developed into a national character, which, though 
tinged with sectionalism, grew gradually until he reached 
the loftier elements of patriotism, humanity, and a gentle- 
ness rarely observed among men. 

Born in the stormy times when the unavoidable conflict 
was rapidly approaching, he had reached the days of youth 
when .sectional strife began. The bitter struggles of that 
eventful period have become a story of the past, and a gen- 
eration of men have been born and grown into manhood 
since the great civil war. To me it is a memory of child- 
hood. Yet I can well remember when the two opinions of 
government, which had existed antagonistic to each other 
since the formation of the Republic, divided our land and 
arra\ed one part against the other. 

In the North there had grown the idea of a strong Federal 
Government, such as had been portrayed by the Declaration 
of Independence. In the South there was the sentiment of 
a Confederation of States, such as had been contemplated 
in the Articles of Fedcratiou which bouud the Colonies in 
H. Doc. 255 8 



114 L^fi ^'^'^ Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

the Revolutionary war. These two rival principles met 
upon the border; there sentiment was divided, and there- 
fore upon the borderland can be found that judgment which 
perhaps will give in more impartial manner credit to each 
and both for the valor, heroism, and self-sacrifice with which 
each section maintained what it believed to be right. 

When the great struggle came, Mr. Crisp, who was then 
a youth, cast his fortunes with his native State. Georgia 
had broken the bonds that bound her to the Federal Union. 
She had joined herself to that other government which had 
been named by the Southern States. Mr. Crisp had been 
reared in the school of State rights, of sovereignty for the 
Commonwealth, and therefore it was but natural to him to 
give allegiance to the Commonwealth which, though not 
the place of his birth, had given him sustenance through 
childhood and youth, and from which he had received all 
she had to give. 

Amid all the changeful fortunes and vicissitudes of inter- 
necine strife the days of his youth passed into manhood, 
and in the fortunes of war he became a prisoner in the 
hands of the Federal troops. There he remained until 
the conflict was ended and the great question upon which 
the perpetuity of this Government depended was forever 
put at rest. The first period of his life was closed. The 
sentiment of State sovereignty, which had colored his 
youth and led him to take up arms at the behest of his 
State against the General Government, was dead — aye, 
more ; buried beneath four years of weary marching, 
attacks and repulses, victories and defeats, a million lives, 
and billions of treasure. It was a lesson in national life 
which ever>' nation must learn, and which, thanks be to 
God, the American nation has successfully committed to 
memory. It made a deep impression upon Mr. Crisp's 



Address of Air. Wellington. 115 

life; it fashioned all the years that were to come, and con- 
verted much of the partisan into a judicial temperament. 
He began life on his own account, studied law, and entered 
into its practice. Success attended his efforts, judicial 
honors were given him, and then there came into his life 
another ambition, which led him into the path where he 
was most needed. The bitter passions and intense preju- 
dices of .sectional strife do not pass away in the fading of a 
moon nor yet in the circling of the seasons of one .short 
year. They die gradually, and the people who would 
throw them off need the calm judgment, the sober second 
thought of men who can lead them conservatively, who 
will appeal to nobler sentiments and broader views, and no 
man in the past two decades has rendered greater service 
to his common country in this direction than Mr. Crisp. 
His whole course in the House of Representatives, while it 
manifested the fact that he was true to the atmosphere in 
which he lived and faithful to the people whom he served, 
demonstrated that he could look beyond the narrow confines 
of his State, view the broad expanse of our country, and, 
step by step, guide the Southern States to the common 
vantage grotrnd where hands should be clasped and com- 
mon cause made for the whole American people. 

When I met him first, but little over a year ago, I knew 
him only by the reputation he had made as the leader of 
the political organization to which he belonged ; knew him 
by the record he had made as Speaker of the House of 
Representatives. I esteemed him, admired him, honored 
him, and personal contact but intensified that sentiment 
and feeling. 

As a leader of men of his own opinion, he was neither 
rude nor masterful. To the opposition he was very fair, 
just, and frequently charitable. To tyros and beginners he 



ii6 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

was not only gentle, but generous, and he had about him 
the subtle quality of standing firm upon his own ground, 
yet winning the confidence, trust, and good graces of his 
adversaries. 

I saw him last upon the floor of this House, when insid- 
ious disease had begun its work, but he bore it bravely, and 
by strength of will and nerve attempted to win the terrible 
battle of life against death. Even then the silent angel 
poised the dread shaft which ere long was to speed and 
strike him down. The flowers of spring had bloomed and 
faded when he departed for his home, there to engage in 
the contest which was to bring him further honors from 
the people of his State. Summer passed, the harvests of 
autumn were gathered, and the winds of approaching win- 
ter were beginning to sigh and moan among the trees when 
the final summons came, and the wires flashed to friend and 
foe the news that saddened one and all, giving the tidings 
of his death. 

The record of his life is made up. It is fair and beauti- 
ful ; and the characteristic which shall make him loved most 
among our people is that he was just and generous toward 
all, and mingled with justice and generosity that love which 
is the best part of all men, for, in the language of the 
Ancient Mariner — 

He prayeth well who loveth well 
Both man and bird and beast; 
He prayeth best who loveth best 
All things both great and small; 
For the dear God who loveth us, 
He made and loveth all. 

Thus we may leave him, life's faithful mission accom- 
plished and the enigma of the hereafter solved. His mem- 
ory may be safely intrusted to the people with whom he 
lived and who now dwell where his ashes rest. 



Address of Mr, Tate. 117 



ADDRESS OF Mr, Tate. 

Mr. Tate. IMr. Speaker, we pause amidst the stormy 
strife of life's fierce battles and the busy, bustling scenes of 
party contention and international disturbance to pay trib- 
ute to the memory, recall the services, tell of the exalted 
character, and recount the many virtues of one who has 
left his impress upon the age in which he lived. A great 
leader has fallen. Wlien the future historian comes to 
record the names of the illustrious statesmen who have 
been the pride and glory of our common country, that of 
Charles Frederick. Crisp will shine forth among the 
first and the foremost and shed luster upon the greatest and 
the best. 

When Attorney-General Gushing, on December 9, 1853, 
announced to the Supreme Court the death of that great 
and good man William R. King, Vice-President of the 
United States, he said, among other beautiful things con- 
cerning the dead statesman, these grand words, which are 
so appropriate to this occasion that I take the liberty of 
transcribing them: 

He stands to the memory in sharp outline, as it were, against 
the sky like some chiseled column of antique art, or some con- 
sular statue of the imperial republic, wrapped in its marble 
robes, grandly beautiful in the simple dignity and unity of a 
faultless proportion. 

Mr. Speaker, death extinguished a great light when Mr. 
Crisp died. He was not an orator like Clay, nor a logician 
like Webster, nor a metaphysician like Calhoun, yet he 
possessed in harmonious combination in a great degree 
all of these distinguishing attributes, and was, sir, the 



Ii8 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

best-rounded character I ever kuew. He was a pleasing, a 
charming speaker; graceful in manner, clear in statement, 
fair in his representation of his opponent's position and 
argument, and candid in his search for the truth. 

He knew how to be at the same time a partisan and a 
patriot. He was a partisan, because he believed that the 
principles and policy of his party involved the highest 
interest of his country and his race. He was a patriot, 
because he recognized in the beneficent Constitution and 
institutions of his country the world's last and best hope 
for constitutional liberty and free representative govern- 
ment. He was no specialist, but he stood among the first 
in all things which go to make greatness. He was a wise 
counselor, an able statesman, an eloquent advocate, an 
accomplished parliamentarian, a courtly gentleman, and a 
true friend. His life is an inspiration to the young men 
who are to come after him — a beacon light to guide them 
to a higher sense of public duty, and give them a more 
exalted idea of unselfish patriotism. I do not care to dwell 
at length upon the public career of the illustrious dead, 
because it is a part of the history of the country and 
familiar to all. His name is indissolubly associated with 
all the events of importance which have occurred in the 
last decade. 

From the time when, a mere youth, he first entered public 
life, down to the moment when death called him from us, 
his career was a series of brilliant successes. As solicitor- 
general, judge, president of conventions, member of Con- 
gress, Speaker, everywhere and at all times, he met ever>' 
obligation and discharged the duties of every trust com- 
mitted to him with honesty, fidelity, and ability. Right 
here, upon the floor of this House, was the scene of his 
greatest triumphs — his most brilliant achievements. Cool, 



Address of Mr. Tate. 119 

self-poised, and well-balanced, he could always husband 
his resources at the right time and direct his energies with 
the best possible effect. Never did he develop his matchless 
powers or show his wonderful resources so well as when 
leading the forlorn hope of the minority; amid the fire and 
clash of party contention he would always parry the blows 
of the opposition, and by well-directed aims send his own 
darts with fatal precision into the heart of the enemy. He 
never voluntarily gave offense, and frequently disarmed 
opposition by his kindness and urbanity. Those, however, 
who met him in debate found that "there were blows to 
take as well as blows to give. ' ' 

Some men may have surpassed Mr. Crisp in the subtle 
forces of thought; others may have excelled him in the 
divine gift of eloquence; still others may have been his 
equal in soundness of judgment and the judicial fairness 
with which he exercised power, and perhaps he had his 
peers in the high social qualities for which he was so emi- 
nently distinguished, but men possessing all these high 
attributes in combination are rarely foimd. Mr. Crisp 
possessed them all. His was a clean, active, incisive intel- 
lect. He was a fluent and eloquent speaker, an upright and 
impartial judge, an able and faithful Representative, a 
ready and skillful parliamentarian, and as a Speaker of 
this House for ability and fairness he goes into history the 
peer of Blaine and Randall. He was a polished and courtly 
gentleman, genial in manner and spirit as an "incense- 
breathing morn " in May, a bold and fearless antagonist, a 
faithful and confiding friend, and more than this, than 
these, than all, he was that "noblest work of God, an hon- 
est man." His was — 

One of the few, the iniiiiortal names, 
That were not born to die. 



I20 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

Mr. Crisp sent the sunshine of joy and gladness into the 
hearts of those who came in contact with his maenetic 
presence. It has been said that lie never lost a friend nor 
made an enemy. Those of ns who enjoyed the pleasure 
of comradeship with this golden-hearted man, who luxu- 
riated, as it were, in the bright light of his genial 
companionship, can attest how great is our loss, how sad 
our bereavement. A gentler, kindlier heart never beat 
within a human breast. Would that I could speak of him 
in fitting language as a friend. He was my friend in all that 
term can suggest, and my personal loss is greater than I can 
tell. I loved him and I loved to follow where he led. Rut 
above all I loved to sit and hold sweet converse with him. 

He has departed from among us, and we will never see 
his like again. Silently and sorrowfully he was laid awa\- 
in the bosom of the Commonwealth he loved so well and 
served so faithfully. The grief of thousands of stricken 
hearts followed his funeral train. We have embalmed him 
in our hearts forever, and Georgia continues to weep upon 
the new-made grave of her best beloved son. Friend of 
my life — 

Farewell; my lips may wear a careless smile, 

My words may breathe the very soul of lightness, 

But the touched heart must deeply feel the while 
That life has lost a portion of its brightness. 

Mr. Crisp was ambitious, "that glorious fault of angels 
and gods." He had ambition for official position not for 
its empty honors and perishing emoluments, but for the 
privilege and opportunity it gave him to serve his country. 
His ambition was neither selfish nor inordinate. He was 
ambitious to do the most good within the compass of a 
life's duration, and to that end he consecrated the best 
energies of his great mind and his honest heart. He 



Address of Mr. Tate. I2i 

wanted to go to the Senate, the sine (jna non of every 
statesman's ambition, bnt his desire to attain this exalted 
station did not overcome his fixed purpose to serve his 
country where he could do his country most good. While 
we can not say of him what Antony said of Julius Csesar,, 
"I thrice presented him a kingly crown, which he did 
thrice refuse," yet we all do know that he was once 
presented with a seat in the American Senate and that 
he did once refvise it, because his friends and his party 
thought he could render the country greater service by 
remaining Speaker of this House, and with him their 
wish was law. He was assured by the present able and 
patriotic junior Senator from Georgia [Mr. Bacon], who 
was at the time an aspirant for the position, that if he 
would accept the appointment to the office of Senator 
tendered him by Governor Northen, made vacant by the 
death of the beloved and lamented Colquitt, he would 
have no opposition for the succession before the legislature; 
therefore his acceptance at that time meant the fulfillment 
of the cherished ambition of his life. Yet he made the 
personal sacrifice for the public good. Some men are 
stimulated to great achievements by the love of glory, 
others by the thirst for power, but the sentiment that 
absorbed the thought and thrilled the heart of Mr. Crisp 
was love of country. 

Breathes there the man with soul so dead 
Who never to himself hath said, 
This is my own, my native land ! 

The greatest heroes of the world's history are those who 
fought the battles against self and conquered. Mr. Cri.sp 
did this. He fought this fight, he kept the faith, he gained 
the victors', and wears the crown. 



122 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

Pure and unselfish patriotism was his distinguishing char- 
acteristic. 

Mr. Speaker, Georgia, ever proud of the achievements of 
her sons, looked upon this her favorite with peculiar pride 
and fondness, and her people, unforgetful of the sacrifices 
he had made for them, with a unanimity unsurpassed, had 
named him for the highest position within her gift, when 
his great heart ceased to beat. And thus this light was 
extinguished in the very blaze of his greatest political 
triumph ; he reached forth his hand to take the Senatorial 
toga and grasped a shroud. 

Mr. Speaker, as the stars go down to rise on some fairer 
shore, so our friend passes through the gloom of the grave 
to another and immortal condition of life. To those annealed 
in the blood of the crucified Galilean, there is no death. 

There is no death ! What seems so is transition ; 

This life of mortal breath 
Is but a suburb of the life elysian, 

Whose portal we call Death. 

Divine revelation flashes from the sheen of the cross upon 
the darkness of the grave, the light of life, and anchors the 
broken heart of humanity, by the cable of faith, to the cher- 
ished truths of the resurrection and immortality. The relig- 
ion of Christianity offers the only rational solution of the 
problems of life and death. We shall meet our friend and 
associate again, with all those who have preceded us. 

We may not sunder the veil apart, 

That hides from our vision the gates of day. 

We only know that their barks no more 
May sail with us o'er life's stormy sea; 

Yet somewhere, I know, on the unseen shore, 
They watch and beckon and wait for me. 

Our distinguished colleague and beloved friend was as 
felicitious in death as he was successful in life. He had 



Address of Mr. Tate. 123 

lived long and well in a few brief years. He had served his 
conntry well and faithfully in positions of high trust and 
great honor. He was in the high tide of matured intellect- 
ual manhood, and in the noonday splendors of national fame. 
Age had not palsied his great powers, disappointment had 
not paled the star of his hope, nor frozen the current of his 
love. His work well done, his fame assured as part of his 
country's history, he "wraps the drapery of his couch about 
him and lies down to pleasant dreams," with every flower 
on his tomb wet with a nation's tears. 



124 -^{/^ ^'^"^ Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



Address of Mr. Livingston. 

Mr. Livingston. Mr. Speaker, when I first knew 
Charles Frederick Crisp, he was a very, very yonng 
man. He had been appointed solicitor-general of one of 
the circuits in the State of Georgia, and so well and so 
faithfnlly did he perform his duties as solicitor that when 
he asked an appointment to the judgeship of the same cir- 
cuit, he received it at the hands of the governor. So well 
did he perform the duties of judge — no stain, no criticism, 
no slander was cast upon him or his administration — that 
at the end of his first term he was elected by the Georgia 
legislature for a second term. 

In all his life he performed his duties well. Beginning 
without much of this world's goods, with but few friends, 
and with a limited education, he learned to trust implicitly 
in that old adage that — 

Honor and shame from no condition rise; 
Act well your part, there all the honor lies. 

From his early manhood until the day of his death he 
was a practical, upright, honest official in every capacity, 
whether State or national. 

In 18S3 we had a very noted political contest, such as had 
not taken place for many years in Georgia. There was 
opposition to the nomination and election of the then act- 
ins governor, and there was a combination to beat him. 
There were, I believe, four or five candidates who were 
prominent. Two of them were very nearly equal, and con- 
trolling almost the entire vote of the convention. Mr. 



Address of M). Livingston. 125 

Crisp was a delegate at that time in behalf of a man who 
had but 13 votes in the convention. I was a delegate, and 
when we met, the great question to solve was who should 
act as the permanent president of that convention. Neither 
of the dominant candidates could afford to allow his rival 
to name the presiding officer. There was a committee of 
thirteen appointed to suggest a presiding officer, and I am 
glad that I had the pleasure, as a member of that committee, 
of suggesting Mr. Crisp, and of stating in the committee 
room that, of all the men who were accredited as delegates 
to that convention on that day, Mr. Crisp was, in my hum- 
ble opinion, one of the fairest-minded and most impartial 
and honest men in the convention. The suggestion was 
accepted; he was elected, and well and satisfactory did his 
selection prove to all interested parties. That was the 
beginning of his political life. 

Mr. Speaker, so much has been said of Mr. Crisp to-day, 
both as to his life and as to his character, and the day has 
worn so far away and there are so many others who are 
anxious to say something in his behalf, that I shall only 
consume a moment or two more of time. I was with him 
much during the last year. I have been intimate with 
him for many years. I have seen him in sunshine and 
under the clouds. I have seen him in prosperity and in 
adversitv, but never in all my life did I see Mr. Crisp so 
sorely tried as during the last year. When he thought of 
entering the race for United States Senator before the people 
of Georgia, the proposition was that this question should 
be remanded to the people, by primaries that should select 
the name of the Senator, believing that the Georgia legis- 
lature would indorse their action. It is well remembered 
by everybody on the floor of the House that a very strong 



126 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

man — a young man, strong in mind and in body — met 
him on the hustings in Georgia, contesting his claim to 
the Senatorship on account of his financial views. 

It was intimated when Mr. Crlsp left the field and failed 
to fill the engagements on hand, that it was for other 
reasons than his physical condition. He was criticised by 
the papers at home in some instances and b>' newspapers 
abroad. No one knew but j\Ir. Crisp his real condition. 
No physician who had attended him or prescribed for him 
knew his sufferings and the peculiar condition physically 
under which he labored. He withdrew. He submitted to 
those adverse criticisms and talked to me about it more than 
once. I was with him, Mr. Speaker, when he made his 
last speech on earth. Called by the people of Rome, Ga., 
and the surrounding country last fall to deliver a political 
speech, he had a magnificent audience, and never in my life 
did I see a speaker who nerved himself so thoroughly 
to do his full duty and measure up to his full capacity as 
did Mr. Crisp on that occasion. It was painful to see the 
effort he made to meet the expectations of the vast crowd 
that was hanging upon his lips. Yet he partially failed; it 
was his last effort. He only talked for a few minutes, and 
had to sit down. There were but few, perhaps including 
Mr. Crisp himself, who were aware of how fatal the malady 
was or would be, and how soon it would take him from his 
sphere of action. 

Permit me to say in conclusion, Mr. Speaker, that his 
death was a national loss, but a much greater loss to 
Georgia, and to his home circle and to his personal friends 
an irreparable loss. He was an honest man, a good man, 
a discreet man, a wise man, a kind man, a liberal man, a 
manly man. 



Address of Mr. Lawson. 127 



Address of Mr, Lawson. 

Mr. Lawson. Mr. Speaker, on the 23d day of October 
last the soul of Charles Frederick Crisp, a great Geor- 
gian and an honored member of this body, passed through 
the gates of death into the presence of God. On that day 
his eyes rested for the last time on the autumnal splendors 
of his Southern skies. At such a season life is precious. 
For no artist, however deep his inspiration or exalted his 
imagination, has ever conceived a picture that rivaled in 
beauty and grandeur the surpassing loveliness of forest and 
landscape when "every leaf is an opal, and every tree a 
bower of varied beauty." From such a scene the soul of 
Mr. Crisp, conscious of its impending voyage and with no 
loved one absent, .fearlessly launched upon the serene and 
placid sea of eternity. The places that knew him once will 
know him no more forever. But in a potent sense he still 
lives — lives in the virtues which he illustrated and in the 
successes which he achieved. These are invulnerable to the 
leaden scepter. 

For the emulation of youth a nobler example than our 
deceased friend can scarcely be presented. Ardent, cour- 
ageous, patriotic, and loyal to his adopted State, he, at the 
age of 16 years, grasped the sword in defense of her sover- 
eign rights. Through four year'^ of fatigue, hardsliips, and 
untold privations he followed the immortal Lee, the incom- 
parable soldier and peerless citizen, amid the vicissitudes of 
fortune, to his final defeat. Then, at the age of 20 years, 
located in a small south Georgia town, he began a new life. 
A stranger, without either fortune or ancestral distinction, 



128 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

he began that long civic combat which, protracted through 
many years, ended only with his life. There was nothing 
in the physical aspect of the country, nor in its social and 
political condition, to animate the buoyancy of his youthful 
spirits or to guide him to an elevated plain of manhood and 
usefulness. Physical desolation all around and a thorough 
social upheaval, united with a galling oppression from with- 
out, tended to make the prospect cheerless and hopeless. 
But that manly courage and hardihood acquired in his 
soldier life qualified him for the conquest of adverse condi- 
tions and for his final triumph over all discouragements. 

His education was meager, such only as he had acquired 
in the common schools; yet he was inducted into the learned 
profession of the law, a profession which in his Southern 
home had always held aloft the highest standards of learn- 
ing, integrity, and honor. But, by dint of native ability, 
strenuous effort, and unfailing industry, he soon won a firm 
foothold in the profession, and was promoted to the office 
of solicitor-general, and charged with the prosecution of all 
infractions of the criminal laws in his circuit. His able 
and faithful discharge of the duties of his ofiSce is evidenced 
by the fact that on the first opportunity thereafter he was 
elected one of the judges of the superior courts of the State, 
courts which are vested with the highest original civil and 
criminal jurisdiction. Responsibilities of the most grave 
and onerous nature now devolved on him — none could be 
more so. To hold the scales of justice evenly between the 
contending animosities and passions of personal strifes, and 
to determine the issues of life and death impartially accord- 
ing to law, is a responsibility and a duty more exacting 
of the intelligence, the patience, the integrity, and the 
humanity of the judge than can otherwise be imposed. 



Address of Mr. Lawsim. 129 

Yet Mr. Crisp bore this burden with fortitude, with a 
sound understanding, and with conscientious loyalty to 
justice and fidelity to the vState, eminently displaying in 
all emergencies the immovable and calm equipoise of an 
impartial magistrate. 

His countrymen, to attest their approval of his able 
judicial administration, transferred him to a sphere of less 
serious responsibilities, but of higher honor and wider 
usefulness. They elected him to the Congress of the 
United States. I will not undertake to portray his labors 
and successes here. That will be much better done by 
his colaborers and contemporaries. 

I did not witness any part of his Congressional career 
until he was chosen Speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives. As his colleague, and representing in part the same 
people, I witnessed, with a pardonable exhilaration of feel- 
ing, the industry, aptitude, ability, and fairness with which 
he deported himself in that great office. Quick to perceive, 
prompt to act, resolute of purpose, calm, composed, and 
suave in manner, he was a model officer. The stormy ebul- 
lition of partisan fury did not appall him, nor did sudden 
parliamentary entanglements disconcert him. Deliberate, 
just, self-poised, courteously according equal consideration 
to political friend and foe, he pursued the even tenor of his 
way. His personal bearing, and the nnitiue blending of his 
moral and intellectual ([ualities, fitting him well and equally 
for action or for the council board, plainly marked him for 
the leadership of his party in the House. His sagacity, if 
not unerring, was of the keenest description. For these rea- 
.sons, when his party suffered defeat, and when he descended 
from the chair to the floor of the House, party leadership 
was accorded hiin spontaneously, without rivalries, and 
H. Doc. 25s 9 



130 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

without criticisms or comparisons. And though he knew 
that disease was corrupting the fountains of life, and 
though, haggard and wasted in strength, he sometimes 
seemed to bend beneath the burden, he resolutely main- 
tained his station at the head of the column. Thus, as 
lawyer, jurist, legislator. Speaker, and statesman, he was a 
conspicuous figure and filled a large space in the public 
eye. His was — 

Th' applause of listening senates to command, 
.\n<l read his history in a nation's eyes. 

Cut down in the midst of his years, in the prime and ma- 
turity of manhood, in the zenith of his fame and usefulness, 
his death is an irreparable loss to his State and country. 

It may be remarked that his history was complete as it 
progressed. He advanced step by step from one degree of 
honor and usefulness to a higher, but every inch traversed 
was thoroughly conquered ground, and he did not need the 
brilliancy of a later achievement to reflect back and supple- 
ment or amend the deficiencies, the errors, or the failures 
of an earlier period. 

One event in his political career stands out as a conspic- 
uous illustration of his self-sacrificing patriotism. It was 
well known to his friends, and a fact which he did not hesi- 
tate to admit, that he coveted a seat in the United States 
Senate. That seemed to be the goal of his ambition, the 
capstone to an unbroken series of political conquests. But 
when, on the death of Senator Colquitt, the governor of 
Georgia offered to fill the vacancy in the Senate by the 
appointment of Air. Cri.sp, he patriotically put aside the 
coveted prize, esteeming the services he was performing 
as Speaker of the House of Representatives to be of far 
greater value to the country than his services as a Senator. 



Address of Mr. Lawson. 131 

His countrymen warnih' appreciated and applauded his 
self-denial, and in the fullness of time, when he could 
accept the office without a sacrifice of duty, they, with 
practical unanimity in a primary election, indicated him as 
their choice for the Senatorship. All that remained to 
consummate the people's choice and his own ambition was 
the vote of the general assembly, which would have been 
cast before the passing of those beautiful October days. 
Had death spared him a few days longer, an admiring 
people would have crowned him with the laurels long 
coveted. But he is gone ; and the glittering prize which, 
like ripened fruit, was just dropping into his hands, has 
fallen to the lot of another. 

I can not close this brief sketch witliout some reference 
to the private and unofficial life of the honored dead. I 
will not profane the .sanctxiary of his domestic life by any 
allusion to it except to say that he was a loving, dutiful, and 
indulgent husband and father. No man's life is faultless. 
No man's life is as good as he wishes it to be and strives to 
make it. Life is a drama of alternate defeat and victory. 
The private life of Mr. Crisp, leaving out the foibles and 
follies that human nature in the best of men is heir to, was 
untarnished and spotless. No one ever questioned liis 
integrity, and no suspicion or slander ever cast a film upon 
the clear surface of his ch.aracter. It was above reproach. 
His aflfiible manners and singularly democratic habits drew 
men to him and "grappled them witli hooks of steel." No 
;.s ersion of his political foes ever escaped his lips ; they 
even shared the beneficence of his Christian charity. His 
bouliommie was perennial ; his cheerfulness a never-failing 
stream. It was a delight to share in the plea.santries of his 
sunny disposition. As greatness grew upon him he did not 



13^ Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

forget his early and less-favored friends. The great poet 
tells ns that— 

' Tis a common proof, 
That lowliness is young ambition's ladder, 
Whereto the climber upward turns his face ; 
But when he once attains the upmost round. 
He then unto the ladder turns his back, 
Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees 
By which he did ascend. 

Not SO with Mr. Crisp. A friend once gained was a 
friend forever. The friends of his early days were the 
stancher friends of his last days. The period of his suffer- 
ing and decline was wreathed in their admiration and love. 
And if any sacrifice which they could have offered could 
have beaten back the stealthy and relentless approach of 
the grim monster, he to-day, strong and militant, would be 
an active leader among us. 

I conclude with one other remark. Death came to him 
as it comes to but few. It did not with a sudden and resist- 
less stroke mercifully cut him down. It did not, through 
wasting disease, always nearing the inevitable end, assure 
him that recovery was impossible. But it tantalized him 
with alternate hope and dread. Now it approached; again 
it receded; but the dread Reaper was ever dimly present. 
In the noisy altercations of these Halls, in the privacy of 
his home, in the council chamber, on the highway, in the 
hall of assemblies, in solitude, in society, at funerals and 
at marriage feasts, everywhere and always. Death, toying 
with his heartstrings, mocked him. Whether his end was 
near or far off, he knew not; but he did know that his sleep- 
less enemy was inexorable and relentless. For months he 
stood near and listened to the lashing of the waves upon 
the eternal shore and feared not. Surely the valiant never 
taste of death but once. 



Address of Mr. Morse. 133 



Address of Mr. Morse. 

Mr. Morse. Mr. Speaker, at this late hour I promise 
that my words will he very few. The i^Teat dramatist has 
said : 

.A.11 the world's a stage, 
And all the men and women merely players. 

Of this, Washington, with its ever-changing life, seems 
to me to be a fit illustration. I often think, as I ascend the 
steps of this Capitol building, of all the men who have 
served here and walked these streets, ascended these steps 
and had their little day of honor, fame, and pleasure, and 
have joined the silent majority. 

Charles Frederick Crisp, in who.se honor we have 
met here this afternoon, like all the rest, is but an illustra- 
tion, to quote from Gray's immortal Elegy in a Country 
Churchyard, that — 

The paths of glory lead but to the grave. 

These considerations should lead us to look away to that 
undiscovered country, should lead us to seek for honor and 
treasure laid up "where neither moth nor rust doth cor- 
rupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." 
How it should lead us to strive for that incorruptible crown 
of glor\- that fadeth not away, for those enduring honors 
that will stand when the marble crumbles, when the bronze 
turns to dust, and when the canvas fades — will stand when 
the elements have melted with fervent heat and the works 
thereof are burned up. 

Mr. Speaker, to know ^Ir. Crisp was to love the man. 
I disagreed with this distinguished statesman upon nearly 



134 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

every political question, upon economic and financial ques- 
tions, but I am here to bear testimony to the fact that I 
believe he was a thoroughly honest and sincere man. I am 
here to say that he was a refined and courteous gentleman ; 
and I am here to say that he bore the duties of that great 
office which you enjoy, Mr. Speaker, and whose responsi- 
bilities you know so well — I am here to say that he bore 
those great honors with a quiet modesty and dignity. Mr. 
Crisp was a gentleman in the widest, broadest sense of 
those words. Shakespeare says: 

The evil that men do lives after them; 
The good is oft interred with their bones. 

I have often thought when reading that, that he spoke 
ironically. I think exactly the opposite is true. I think 
we love to recount the virtues of our deceased friends rather 
than their failings and faults. The distinguished gentle- 
man from Pennsylvania [Mr. Dalzell] has said that Speaker 
Crisp had faults; but he has truly and justly said that his 
virtues far outshone them; his gentleness, his culture, his 
urbanity of manner, even to his political opponents as well 
as his friends, was a marked characteristic of this great 
man, who now sleeps in the soil of his own loved State, 
the great Empire State of Georgia. 

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Crisp died in the zenitli of his fame. 
He died at the post of duty, as one should wish to die. 
You remember, Mr. Speaker, when the surgeons gathered 
around Mr. Garfield in the depot when he was stricken 
down by the vilest assassin that ever cursed the earth, he 
asked Dr. Bliss: "Doctor, is the wound mortal?" And you 
remember the answer that the doctor made. Said he : " Mr. 
Garfield, we fear the worst." And that great man said: 
"Doctor, I am not afraid to die." Why not? Because he 



Address of Mr. Morse. i35 

was at the post of duty. One of my illustrious aud distin- 
guished predecessors, who for sixteen years represented in 
yonder Hall the district which I have the honor to repre- 
sent—John Ouincy Adams, the Old Man Eloquent— died in 
\ouder Hall in 1840. He died as he lived— at the post of 
duty, like this man. He died on his shield, and his last 
words were: "This is the last of earth. I am content." 
Surely the place where a statesman would wish to die! 

Some of the oldest people w^ho live in my countr> will 
tell you that their grandparents told them about a dark 
day. It occurred on the 19th da>- of May, 1780. It began 
to grow dark at 10 o'clock in the morning, and at noon it 
was so dark in New England that people could not see to 
read out of doors. Our fathers had very few books besides 
the Bible, and in that book they read that God had 
appointed a day in which He would judge the world. 
\'ery many of the good people of New England thought 
the Day of Judgment was at hand. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, 
as you know, the strange phenomenon has never been 
explained. The only explanation ever offered was that 
the smoke from dense forest fires in the West met a dense 
fog from the East. At any rate, on the 19th day of :\ra\-, 
1780, at noonday in New England a man could not see to 
read out of doors. This dark day overtook the Connecticut 
house of assembly in session ; and amid profound silence 
and gloom one of the members arose in his place and 
said : 

Mr. Speaker, it is evident that some strange and wonderful 
providence of Almighty God is upon us, by which we can not 
.see to read at noon time. It may be, sir, that the Day of Judg- 
ment is at hand. In view of this strange and wonderful provi- 
dence of God, I move you, sir, that the Connecticut hou.sc of 
assembly do now adjourn. 



136 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

There was another member of the house of assembl}-, 
whose name was Abraham Davenport, and he was a 
Quaker; and he stood up in his place and opposed the 
motion. He said: 

Mr. President, I am oppo.sed to the motion to adjourn. I am 
utterl}- unable to explain the darkness. It may be that some 
strange and wonderful providence of God is upon us. It may 
be, as my brother has said, that the Day of Judgment is at 
hand. But, sir, as I know of no better place to be overtaken by 
death and the judgment, than at the post of duty, I move you, 
sir, that the candles be brought in and the act be read again. 

It was done; and the business of the house went on. 

Now, Mr. Speaker, I have faith to believe that if you 
and I, like Charles F. Crisp, and John Quincy Adams, 
and James Abram Garfield, and Abraham Da\enport, are 
found at the post of duty, in the largest meaning of those 
words, having our peace made with God, we need not fear 
death or the judgment. Surely this man died at the post 
of duty; he died bravely and he sleeps well; his name and 
his memory and his record will be revered by his country- 
men to the remotest time. Fare you well, Charles F. 
Crisp! We shall see you no more on the shores of time. 
We say to you a last and sad farewell. 



Address of Mr. Tucker. 137 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Tucker. 

Mr. Tucker. Mr. Speaker, in the death of Charles 
Frederick Crisp the country ha.s lost a valuable states- 
man, the Democratic party one of its most loyal and effi- 
cient leaders, the State of Georgia one of her most devoted 
sons, and his family an affectionate husband and father. 
The qualities of mind and traits of character which dis- 
tinguished him in this Hall have been amply portrayed as 
well by his political friends as by his adversaries. They 
were of no mean caliber, and history will accord to Mr. 
Crisp a high and honorable place in the long catalogue of 
distinguished American statesmen. 

The province of eulogy too often runs into the extrava- 
gant; but a just tribute to our friend need not exceed the 
bounds of truth in according him a high and honorable 
position among the great leaders of his party. I would not 
claim for him the powers of analysis of a Calhoun, or the 
ponderous eloquence of a Webster, or the masterful, impe- 
rious leadership of a Clay, or the brilliant dash of a Blaine; 
but combining, it may be in a lesser degree, many of the 
strongest qualities of each, with a coolness of judgment and 
equipoise of mind which has rarely been equaled, he made 
available his powers, and all of them, in the discharge of 
public duties, as effectively as any man I have ever seen in 
jniblic life. If he was not so great a logician as Mr. Cal- 
houn, his powers of logic were always thoroughly available, 
and wielded with telling force against his adversary. 

If he lacked the highest type of eloquence, his intense 
earnestness in debate supplied what the rhetorical art might 



138 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

have suggested. His leadership was always won b\- the 
arts of persuasion rather than by arbitrary dogmatism. He 
was one of the most resourceful as well as forceful men in 
the maintenance of his position in debate that has appeared 
in this Hall for years. Few men possessed the power of 
drawing upon their resources and utilizing their every 
power in action as did Mr. Crisp. 

His manners were simple, unostentatious, and cordial. 
A natural playfulness of spirit, united with a dignity and a 
self-reliance of character, repelled none who sought his 
counsel, and drew the closer to him all who sought his 
society. He did not hesitate to lend his ready counsel in 
molding the policy of his party nor did he shirk the respon- 
sibility which rested upon him as one of its trusted leaders. 
As a leader on the floor or as Speaker he was always bold,- 
ao-oressive, and oftentimes defiant. The elements of char- 
acter in him were harmonized in a certain simplicity of 
style which offended no man's self-love and commanded the 
respect and confidence of all. 

It was not always my fortune to agree with him as to 
matters of party policy, and in the memorable fight for the 
Speakership in the Fifty-second Congress I felt it my pub- 
lic duty, against my personal inclination, to advocate the 
claims of another. Such action on my part, however, so 
far as I know, never created any breach in our personal 
friendship. 

The State of Virginia has always felt the deepest interest 
in the life and career of Mr. Crisp. In those days which 
tried men's souls he freely spilled his blood on her soil, 
and from May, 1861, until May, 1864, when Virginia was 
"a looming bastion fringed with fire," he mingled with 
her people, enlisted with her sons, and fought by their 



Address of Ml . Tucker. 139 

sides. As a soldier, Mr. Crisp exhibited the highest quali- 
ties of excellence. With a cheerful temper, he bore the 
privations of war in the camp, on the field, or on the march, 
and he was ever obedient to command, and ready to respond 
to his countr\-'s call. 

He enlisted at Lnray, in the Valley of Virginia, in 
Company K of the Tenth Virginia Infantry, while his 
father and his brother Harry enlisted in an artillery com- 
pany in the county of Shenandoah. He served first under 
Col. S. A. Gibbons in the brigade of the gallant Elzey, 
afterwards commanded b}- Gen. W. H. Taliaferro (now 
Judge Taliaferro), of Gloucester County, Va., and subse- 
quently commanded by Gen. George H. Stewart. 

In speaking of his services as a soldier, his old captain, 
Capt. R. S. Parks, of Luray, Va., says: 

In the spring of 1862 our regiment was transferred from Joe 
Johnston's command on the Rappahannock to Jackson's com- 
mand in the ^'alle^•, and remained in that command until the 
sun set at Appomattox. Most of the regiment was captured 
with Ed Johnson's division in the " bloody salient " on the nth 
of May, 1864, where perhaps occurred the fiercest struggle and 
more blood was spilled than at any place during the war. 
Crisp was captured at that time and was not released until 
after the war. He enlisted at the age of 16 years as a private, 
and was second lieutenant when he was captured. He was 
quite small, not disposed to be corpulent, as he grew to be in 
after life. He was very quiet and unobtrusive ; in fact, retiring 
in his manner ; a great reader, he was never without a book. 
He carried one in his knapsack always, if he had one (but 
"Jackson's Foot Cavalry" did not like to carry suiierfluous 
baggage), or in his blanket. Often when the regiment was 
halted to rest on the march, he would innnediately sit down 
and read from his book. He had a most remarkable memory, 
and could read a book and then relate everything in it, giving 
in many instances the exact language. 



140 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

Like all the members of Company K, he was a soldier from 
head to foot, for no man ever commanded a better set of men 
or harder fighters than those who composed that compan}'. 
Taps for " lights out " have been heard by many since 1865, 
and one by one they are passing to the other shore. Each one, 
so far as I have seen or heard, drew the drapery of death around 
him as coolly as he wrapped himself in his own blanket and laid 
down to sleep and dream on the field of carnage to await the 
call to arms at early dawn. 

In the infantry there was little chance for promotion for gal- 
lant sen-ice. They were under orders, and had only to fight 
and die on the heights of Gett)-sburg, in the tanglewood of the 
Wilderness, or the swamps of the Chickahominy. Charlie 
was a soldier without a stain, a statesman without guile, and in 
war and peace a gentleman. 

The people of Virginia, in coinmon with those of the 
whole country', mourn at the grave of their friend, defender, 
and protector, and claim the privilege through her Repre- 
sentatives here of placing a flower upon his open grave in 
commemoration of their lasting gratitude for his fidelity to 
her and to his country. 



Address of Mr. Hooker. 141 



Address of Mr. Hooker. 

Mr. Hooker. IMr. Speaker, it was iny pride and good 
fortune to enjoy the friendship of CHARLES Frederick 
Crisp, and I feel a better man for having been allowed that 
inestimable privilege. 

The more than ordinary solemnity of this sad occasion 
■deeply impresses me, and I am fully cognizant of my utter 
incompetency to add anything to the remarks that have 
alread)- been so feelingly, justly, and appropriately made; 
yet 1 am unwilling to let this opportunity pass without 
paving my heartfelt tribute to him whose memory we honor 
to-day. 

My acquaintance with him began at the beginning of the 
Fifty-second Congress, when he had just been honored by 
his party as its candidate for the Speakership, and I look 
back upon mv short political career and my heart teems 
with gratitude to our lamented friend for the many words 
of counsel and encouragement which his benevolent and 
generous nature prompted him to bestow upon those who 
sought his aid and advice. 

Among the prominent characteristics of tliis leader among 
men I would call attention to one that particularly stands 
forth when observing his eminent career, and that is the 
universal and kindly consideration which he extended to 
the younger and less experienced members of this body. 

However burdened with the cares of a busy public life, 
he was always ready to listen to the appeals of his younger 
colleagues and give them the assistance of his masterly 



142 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

mind, so rich in experience, so trained in the affairs of 
legislation. 

Time alone will disclose the true wisdom of his course; 
and though he has departed, his memory will be treasured 
in the hearts of all who have been associated with this 
noble character. 

He was a careful and conscientious legislator, ^-et so 
strong in his convictions, when once formed, that he fol- 
lowed the lines of duty as he saw them with untiring zeal 
and energy. 

His pluck and perseverance soon gained for him distinc- 
tion, and the part)- whose principles he espoused quickly 
recognized him as a leader, and he was ever afterwards a 
prominent iigure in its affairs. 

Strong i^artisan that he was, he never forgot the rights of 
others. Honored as he was by the unbounded confidence 
of his fellow-men, he never denied to others the considera- 
tion due them. 

Thougli many of us differed with him on the leading 
political issues of the day, yet we admired this progressive, 
resolute, national figure, who played so important a part in 
many of the leading events of recent years. 

Simple, courteous in manner, forcible in expression, 
fearless in conflict, the virtues and qualities of this distin- 
guished servant, faithful, upright, honorable, raised him to 
the pinnacle of high esteem in the minds and hearts of his 
fellow-countrymen. 

His private and public career furnish a most noble 
example to the American youth endeavoring to attain 
laudable ambition, and to those of the older generation who 
may be discouraged and disheartened an inspiration to an 
awakened and renewed activit\'. 



Address of Mr. Bartlctl. 143 



ADDRESS OF Mr. BARTLETT. 

Mr. Bartlett. Mr. Speaker, to those distinguished gen- 
tlemen who have spoken and who will address the House 
on this sad occasion, and whose gifted tongues are so well 
aided by a long and familiar association with him in these 
Halls, might well be left the fit memorial of this our late 
colleague and honored friend. To me the effort to speak of 
the life and death of him whose memory we memorialize 
to-day is difficult indeed, for my tongue almost refuses to 
convey into speech what my heart feels, and it is with much 
distrust of myself that I have ventured to speak at all; 
indeed, it is with an emotion that almost stifles utterance I 
approach the altar of his hallowed memory to lay upon it 
my simple flower of feeble tribute. I shall not attempt to 
relate in detail the various epochs in his illustrious career, 
nor to delineate the many admirable and exalted virtues 
he possessed. That will be done by others more able and 
eloquent than myself 

Mr. Speaker, again has Death invaded this House — again 
with relentless greed has borne a trophy from our ranks. 
Again we pause amid the busy scenes of public duties to pay 
tribute to the dead. This time the insatiate Archer has 
hurled his shaft with unerring and fatal precision at one of 
its brightest and most shining marks, and not only this 
House, but this whole Union, has lost one of its loveliest 
and purest ornaments. Tlie mind in which genius and real 
worth had already erected a temple to fame and usefulness, 
and which but awaited the opportunity, already at hand, to 
make it grander, greater, and more useful, is no more; the 



144 ^ife and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

heart in which the noblest virtues dwelt is stopped forever. 
The Representative of his people on this floor, who was soon 
to bear the commission of his State as a member of the 
Senate of the United States, has ended his earthh' career 
and taken np his abode in the "silent halls of death." 

With bowed heads and sorrowing hearts, but with sweet 
and hallowed recollections of his life, his friendship, and 
association, we stand to-day over the new-made grave of 
Charles Frederick Crisp. 

On the 23d of October last the reluctant wires convej'ed 
to the world the sad intelligence that Mr. Crisp, for many 
years a member of this House, twice its presiding officer, 
was dead. A great bereavement fell upon my State and upon 
the whole people — a sudden and most untimely bereavement. 
The blow went straight to the heart of the great State he 
represented on this floor, and Georgia laments the loss more 
than words can express. "The flower of her hope withered ' ' 
because the new and highest honor in her gift, prepared for 
him by the almost unanimous voice of her people, remained 
unbestowed by her hands. 

He died when but little advanced beyond the prime of life. 
His success had been equal to that of the favored ones of the 
day. He left us at a time when the past yielded a great deal 
for gratifying retrospection, when the present afforded the 
richest elements of happiness, and the future invited him 
to higher honors and ampler resources of enjoyment, and 
assured him success in a field of greater usefulness for his 
State and the people of this great Government. But all 
that he possessed, all that he hoped for, could not stay the 
hand of the great destroyer. 

Mr. Crisp filled many important positions, and he met and 
performed the duties of each in a manly, straightforward, 



Address of Mr. Bar tie/ 1. 145 

honest way. As a young volunteer soldier in the cause 
of the Confederate States, he was brave, determined, and 
obedient to authority. He was a member of the legal 
profession, a profession which is "as ancient as magistracy, 
as noble as virtue, as necessary as justice," and which, above 
all others, shapes and fashions the institutions under wliich 
we li\e ; a profession "which is generous above all others, 
and in which living merit in its day is bestowed according 
to its deserts. " As a member of the bar of the southwestern 
circuit of Georgia, a bar noted at all times for the learning 
and ability of its members, he soon forced his way to the 
front rank, and at an early period after entering practice was 
appointed solicitor-general of that judicial circuit. 

As a lawyer, while he always represented the interest of 
his client, he never undertook to mislead judge or jury by 
specious sophistry, but he adhered to the same scrupulous 
sincerity in his advocacy of his client's cause which he 
observ-ed in the other transactions of life. As prosecuting 
officer for the State, while he fearlessly pursued the viola- 
tors of the law, no innocent man, however poor or humble, 
was permitted to suffer. 

He was judge of the superior court of his State, the court 
of the highest jurisdiction, other than the supreme court 
of the State, for the correction of errors of law. Though 
quite a young man when he was made judge, and with 
somewhat limited experience at the bar, he soon proved 
himself to be an ideal judge. He was patient and courte- 
ous, not given to that vice possessed by some judges, first to 
find that which he might in due time have heard from the 
bar. He never met the case halfway nor gave occasion 
to parties to say their counsel or proofs were not heard. 
His integrity was above even suspicion, and though the 

H. Doc. 255 10 



146 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

judgment may have been erroneous at times, the counsel 
and the parties knew that the law had been pronounced as 
he believed it to be — for at last, above all things, integrity 
is the portion and proper virtue of a judge. 

Mr. Crisp's intellectual excellence and power were due 
to his very extraordinary common sense and an innate con- 
trolling impulse to know and do what was right. His mind 
was a distinctly judicial mind; his education was by no 
means thorough, because the years of his earh- youth were 
spent in the Confederate Army, and the time usually de- 
voted to education was given in defense of the South and 
her cause. When he was appointed judge, he had had little 
experience at the bar, and that only as solicitor-general; 
yet when he was appointed judge, he soon took rank among 
the ablest of our judges, and became and was regarded one 
of the best, if not the best, in Georgia. His charges to the 
juries were models of clearness and directness of speech. 
He always "dug deep for tlie justice of the case," and 
when found, permitted no technicalities to defeat it. He 
belonged to that class of lawyers and judges who rely upon 
their clear perception of what is just and right and true 
rather than upon books and cases — more upon principle 

than precedents — 

Juvat accedere fontes. 

His mind was preeminently practical, and his oratory was 
in admirable keeping with his strong natural sense. Ho 
invariably spoke for use, and never for display. Mr. Crisp 
was of a most gentle and kindly disposition ; he was an 
amiable man ; the law of love dwelt in his heart, and the 
"milk of human kindness" mingled in his blood. His 
manners were the most bland and agreeable, and this, 
added to the intuitive quickness of his mind, exuberant 



Address of Mr. Bar tic tt. 147 

and good temper, his devotion to the truth, and attachment 
to his friends made him the favorite he was with his breth- 
ren at the bar, his associates in this House, and the public. 
Though ambitious to be distinguished and useful, he was 
not in the slightest degree selfish. Those who did not 
know him well or understand him might have supposed 
that he was always on the alert to make friends for his 
political purposes; but the truth was he was so broad, so 
catholic in his kindne.ss and gratitude, that it was perfecth- 
natural for him to be more than niereh' courteous and 
polite ; it was perfectly- natural for him to compliment all 
with whom he came in contact with his attentions and 
Courtesy. 

And thus he bore without abuse 
The grand old name of gentleman. 

True, indeed, it is we can sa}- of Mr. Crisp that he was 
distinguished in the humbler walks of life by his devotion 
to family and friends, by his simplicity in manner and 
speech, and a warm welcome to all who approached him. 

His was a soul of honor everj'w-here, 
That to ignoble actions scorned to bend ; 

True to his trust in friend.ship's faith, he ne'er 
Forgot a favor or forsook a friend. 

He possessed in a degree that is worthy of emulation by 
us all "that humanity that meets in every man a brother; " 
that sympathy which enters with warmth into the feelings of 
others; that friendship which glows with generous emotions 
and binds us to tliose we love with most indissoluble ties; 
that charity that puts on every dubious action and appear- 
ance the most favorable interpretation; that philanthropy 
that feels with quickness the distresses of others, and that 
spirit of justice that accords to all their due. 

Of his services in the Mall of Congress others have 



148 Life and Cliaractcr of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

spoken, and I will not endeavor to say more, except that as 
a national character his fame stands out before the world 
preeminently great. A man of broad, conservative views, 
honest convictions, zealous in patriotic endeavor, courage- 
ous in the defense of right, gentle, modest, and merciful, 
he stood above his compeers a statesman of the nation 
and defender of the South and her people. He was never 
recreant to a single trust. His love for home, his love for 
Georgia and for the Union, and his bold stand for his people 
against oppression of every character have won for him a 
place in the hearts of his countrymen and among the 
imperishable names in the Halls of Congress, where he was 
the peer of his ablest opponent. 

It mav be and is true that he did not possess that brilliant 
wenius that marks a meteoric fame; but his was that worth 
and ability that with stead>- glow grew brighter as it swept 
into the sphere of usefulness. Though he has gone from 
among us, though his warm, sympathetic heart will beat 
no more, and though his body is beyond mortal view, his 
name and fame are written among that constellation of the 
o-reat men of the South and of this Union, where it will 
live on and on through the life of the Republic. 

The great beauty of Mr. Crisp's character was his con- 
stant, tender, loving, and enthusiastic devotion to his wife 
and children. His family life was, after all, his chiefest 
grace. With a tender and gentle courtesy and with a lov- 
ing nature, he lavished his heart's best gifts on her whom 
God gave to him, and with a fond father's love and devo- 
tion he cherished the children who grew up around him. 
No change that years and sickness wrought brought any 
change in the gentleness, care, and love that were bestowed 
upon the wife. Though sickness and affliction had made 



Address of Mr. Bar tied. 149 

the wife almost an invalid, yet npon her and to her he 
ahva>-s bestowed all gentleness, all care, all devotion. To 
him, indeed, the afflicted wife seemed "dearer than the 
bride." 

But neither his fame as a lawmaker nor love of his people 
nor the devotion and prayers of his loved one could sta\- tlie 
hand of the great destro>-er. Silent and sure and remorse- 
less, death heeds neither youth nor age; genius, learning, 
povert}-, nor wealth ; the tears of relatives and friends, nor 
the cold indifference of strangers. " All equally the uni- 
versal reaper gathers to his ever-filling jet ever unfilled 
garner — the tomb." 

On a calm, still Sabbath day, at deep twilight, with hands 
of reverent love, we laid him in the bosom of the universal 
mother, by the side of two of his children who had gone 
before, there to rest under Georgia's soil, beneath Southern 
skies and the city he loved so well and the section he ser^-ed 
with so constant fidelity; there, where the shapely shafts of 
Parian white tell of the peace within, where the everlasting 
hills uplift their rugged crests to catch the first ray of the 
morning sun, symbols to the eye of faith of the glorious 
coming of the new dawn; there, in the company of son and 
daughter, he awaits the final destiny of greatness. 

What a noble example has Mr. Crisp set to the young 
men of his State, of this great Union, of diligence in busi- 
ness, of truth and devotion to principle and justice, honesty 
and uprightness in all his conduct toward his fellow-men 
and in public life, which is the basis of our social connec- 
tions. This was the means by which he achieved success 
in life; and here is an example on which our young men 
should be proud to form themselves, an example that refutes 
"the dull maxims of idleness and profligacy," and points 



150 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

out the real road, and the only highway, in a Republic to 
honor, fortune, and fame. 

I utter no idle words when I say for the people of Georgia 
that, "living, we all loved him; dead, we will cherish his 
memory in our innermost hearts." 

His virtues he bequeathed us, that we yet 
May meet him in a lovelier land than this, 

Where darkness is unknown, suns never set, 
And sorrow never comes, but all is bliss. 

Mr. Speaker, I append as part of my remarks the account 
of the funeral services had at the church in Americus on 
October 25, 1896, and the funeral oration delivered by his 
old army commander, that distinguished Georgia divine. 
Gen. C. A. Evans, the old commander of the "Stonewall 
Brigade." 

The church was reached at 2.30 p. m., around which had 
assembled another vast crowd. It is a frame building of quaint 
architecture. The vestibule has two large octagonal columns, 
back of which is a deep recess. Round these two massive sup- 
ports were entwining long folds of black crape, from chapiter 
to plinth. Broad steps, the entire width of the church front, 
led up from a gentle slope to the vestibule. The church is 
embowered in a grove of oaks, which is inclosed by an old 
fence. The very place has an air of solemnity, but the 
occasion gave a deeper funereal aspect to the church and 
surroundings. 

VIEWED THE REMAINS. 

An hour was allotted to those who desired to have a last look 
at their friend and townsman. A single-file procession began, 
and the entire time was consumed in this sad privilege. The 
face, so familiar in life to all the people of Americus, still bore 
the same calm, peaceful expressions that had won the hearts 
and esteem of all who knew him. Pale though it was, still the 
pallor of death had not robbed it of serenity nor of its former 
lifehke semblance. Though his last words were, "Oh, what 



Add7'ess of Mr. Bartlctl. 151 

pain!" the features bespoke that calm resignation to God's will 
and the trust he had placed in his Creator's promise of salva- 
tion. Thus the people saw him, and thus his memory will be 
cherished. 

The bells of the city were still pealing their requiem when 
the hour for the last sad rites arrived. The casket rested on a 
bier in front of the chancel, buried in beds of rarest flowers. 
The pulpit and other places were covered with floral emblems, 
donated by admirers of the deceased. 

While the people were gathering into the church, the organ 
in softest notes pealed forth a funeral dirge. After this solemn 
rendition the choir sang, " There is rest for the weary," so feel- 
ingly that many of the congregation shed tears. 

Rev. T. M. Christian, of the First Methodist Church, then 
read the one hundred and third psalm, after which Rev. Leroy 
Henderson, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, read the thir- 
teenth chapter of ist Corinthians. Then Rev. Mr. Turpin, 
of the First Baptist Church, offered the following prayer : 

' ' O God, beneath whose throne Thy people in all ages ha\'e 
dwelt secure, regard us in great compassion, we beseech Thee, 
for Thy hand hath touched us. 

' ' O Thou who makest sore and bindest up, draw us with the 
cords of Thy love, for we are sorely smitten before Thee. 

' ' Look in mercy upon a nation whose citizens are saying one 
to another: ' Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man 
fallen this day in Israel ? ' 

' ' May the great loss we have sustained serve to rebuke the 
bitterness of party spirit and to calm the turbulent passions of 
the people. 

"Visit with Thy salvation our public servants gathered here 
from different sections of our State and country, and profitably 
remind us all that 'the paths of glory lead but to the grave.' 
Help us to remember ' what shadows we are and what shadows 
we pursue. ' 

"Bless, we implore Thee, our community, which so deeply 
mourns the loss of her distinguished citizen, for we were accus- 
tomed to lean upon his words, and are fain to cry out: 

"O fall'ii at lenj^h that tower of .strenj^th 
Which stood four-square to all the winds that blew ! 



152 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

"Lord God of all comfort, bind up the broken hearts of this 
family circle, whose bitter grief would almost make them say, 
' Behold and see if there is any sorrow like unto our sorrow.' 

" Strengthen with Thy might in the inner man Thy vener- 
able serv^ant, as he receives back under his fatherly protection 
to-day the daughter who in the days of her youth so confidint'^ly 
gave her heart to him, who became so worthy of her unfalternig 
trust, but who has now, alas, been parted from her. 

" We invoke, O God, Thy tenderest mercies upon our sister. 
O Thou who art the light of the world, abide with her, for 
Thou hast taken away from her the light of her eyes. May 
Thy everlasting arms be underneath her, and do Thou comfort, 
sustain, and keep her as she sighs — 

" For the touch of a vanish'd hand. 
And the sound of a voice that is still. 

"Be merciful, O Lord, to all the members of the household. 
Sanctify to the bereaved .sons and daughters their deep distress. 

"Look down with Thine all-pitying eye upon Thy yoiuig 
servant, who so tenderly leaned upon her father's bosom, and 
who was such a joy to his heart. Hold not Thy peace at her 
tears. Lord God, ble.ss these manly boys, and may the mantle 
of their father fall upon them. 

"We praise thee, O God, that we '.sorrow not as those who 
have no hope.' We thank Thee for the belief of Thy servant 
who has finished his course in tho.se Holy vScriptures which are 
able to make us wise unto eternal life, and for his simple trust 
in the Redeemer of the world. And we thank Thee that 
throughout his public career he e\'er ' wore the white feather of 
a blameless life.' For Thou hast taught us to ask: ' Who shall 
ascend into the hill of the Lord or who shall stand in His holy 
place?' and Thou hast .said: 'He that hath clean hands and 
a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor 
sworn deceitfully.' Glory be to God for 'the hope, the blessed 
hope, when days and years are o'er, we all shall meet in 
Heaven,' where — 

' The saints of all ages in harmony meet, 
Their Saviour and brethren transported to greet, 
\niile the anthems of rapture unceasingly roll. 
And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul, 



Address of Mi . Bartlctt. 153 

through Jesus Christ, who was delivered for our offenses, and 
was raised for our justification. Amen." 

The choir then sang, "We shall sleep, but not forever." A 
stillness akin to death impressed the solemnity of the occasion 
upon ever)' heart. The bereaved ones sat near the casket, ha\'- 
ing the sympathy of their friends from every section. 

THE FUNERAL OR.\TION. 

A moment of silence, and Georgia's noble old .soldier and 
Mr. Crisp's warmest and truest friend. Gen. Clement A. Evans, 
stood in the presence of the dead to pay a tribute to his unblem- 
ished life and express sorrow at his early death. Following is 
the oration: 

GENERAL EVANS'S OR.\TIOX. 

A great bereavement has befallen a whole people — a sudden, 
.sad, and most untimely bereavement. The strong, tender ties 
which bind men together in the clcsest relations of human life 
are sundered. I say most untimely, in reverent, humble sub- 
mission to the good will of Almightj' God. Death aimed his 
.shaft at the brightest mark which for the moment .shone upon 
the public field. With startling emphasis the quick stroke, ring- 
ing throughout the State, announced the imperial authority of 
the in.satiate archer to strike down the most exalted human fig- 
ure as surely and easily as to bring a .sparrow to the ground. 

Our State takes this blow to heart, for it has cut off her beloved 
.son in his prime, and she laments the lo.ss as Jacob mourned for 
Joseph. Her pride is wounded to the quick, for in him .she had 
gloried as a valiant supporter of her fame. The flower of her 
hope withereth because the new and lustrous honor prepared for 
him by her sovereign will remains iniljestowed by her hands. 
To-day Georgia embodies the sorrows of a great, sympathetic 
people, and by every token tells that a whole State can feel a 
common grief. Using the language of another, " We expect the 
.sun to go down in the evening, we expect the flower to wither 
in the fall, we expect the .stream to be frozen in the winter, but 
that the sun should go down at noon, that the flower should 
w-ither in the .summer, that the stream of life should be frozen 



154 l-'f'^' '"'^ Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

before the chill of age had come upon it, is a refiectiou that 
saddens the soul in man." 

It is my sad duty in the present ministrations of this sanctuary' 
to give som? expression to this common sentiment and to speak 
of a noble life so thoroughly known as not to require minute 
description. 

It is commonly commented on that the career of Mr. Crisp 
was a steadily ascending, uninterrupted rising from the first level 
on the shore line of a citizen's duty, upward from grade to grade, 
until he had reached that lofty table- land where all supreme 
distinctions become possible. Such a career illustrates the free 
course laid open by the peculiar principles of our American Union 
to honorable a.spiration, as well as the wisdom of our political 
laws, which give to the people the privilege of a wide range in 
selecting their representatives and rulers. Without special pres- 
tige, without fortune, without the favoring gale of a.ssociaticn 
formed by residence, and beginning business life obscurely in a 
little Georgia town as a returned soldier — a youth of 20 — he 
enters on the work of life amidst the unfa\-orable conditions that 
prevailed in 1S65 throughout this Southern land. The reflec- 
tion has interested me personally that at this precise period we 
were not a day's ride on hor.se apart, both ju.st returned from the 
same scenes, the same fields, possessing the same spirit, and look- 
ing alike landward from the shore line ; behind us the sea where 
a nation had been wrecked ; before us an unknown wilderness 
of political possibilities. 

It is not on this warp, however, I would weave the suggestive 
event of his nobly successful life, but instead thereof I would 
point the young men of the State to the clean truth that Mr. 
Crisp attained his fame by industrious, honorable, and patriotic 
discharge of the duties devolved upon him from time to time. 
Few public men in Georgia have gained great distinction by 
their sole reliance upon the ad^'entitious aid of fortune and 
ancestral name. That illustrious roll which we are proud to call 
is answered by a multitude of noble men who overcame disad- 
vantage by the sweat of the brow, the throb of the brain, the 
tension of ner\'e, the pulse of heart — by men who "stopped the 
mouths of lions and quenched the violence of fire;" by men who 
patiently waited while they earnestlj' worked out their manifest 



Address of Mr. Barf let/. I55 

destiny, and who, in a heroic scorn of obstacles, achieved great- 
ness in all those \-arious departments of human endeavor open to 
all men through the regulated liberties of our free land. Ambi- 
tion requires no liaison with corruption in order to attain a 
glorious fame. The path to human glory should be as "the 
path of the just that groweth brighter unto the perfect day." 
In the battle of life the aspirant for fame should indeed be a hero 
in the strife, and if in the encounter he should go down, let it be 
said of him at the roll call of human names, ' ' He died on the 
field of honor ! ' ' 

The life of Mr. Crisp as a lawyer is above reproach. After 
a year of preparation he was admitted to the bar, and then came 
on six years of that experience which brings discouragement to 
many young barristers and during which some unhappily pre- 
destinate their total failure. But baffling, rather than being 
baffled, and seizing opportunities as they moved within the circle 
of his grasp, and rising by gradations which demanded and were 
met by the toil that gains ascensions, the young lawyer of Ella- 
ville became the solicitor-general of his judicial circuit, and after 
four years' experience rose by appointment and elections to an 
honorable and responsible position upon the bench of the supe- 
rior court of Georgia. 

Tested in these offices of delicate, difficult, and often embar- 
rassing duties, Mr. Crisp won the esteem of the bar, satisfied 
the demands of the law, proved himself an able, just, incorrupti- 
ble judge, and increased his popularity as his intercourse with 
the people widened. 

The result was his transference from the bench to the Halls 
of Congress, where services were rendered as occasions came, 
which gained him increasing attention until even in a Congress 
where he was at a disadvantage by being in the minoritN-, and 
especiallv because he represented a Southern district, he com- 
manded such respect for his courage, his parliamentary skill, 
his fidelity to his party, and his patriotic devotion to his country 
that he was conceded the position of leader of his side of the 
House. His field battles with the eminent vSpeaker — a foeman 
worthy of his steel— will always l)e memorable parliamentary 
history. Gallant as any chivalrous Southern knight, .skilled 
in the tactics of Congressional proceeding, ready in running 



156 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

skirmish, and steady as a stone wall under assault, he stood 
foremost among national party men on the floor of Congress 
until the great change in the political situation gave his friends 
the opportunity to reverse positions between himself and his able 
antagonist by elevating him to the Speakership, one of the most 
commanding offices created by the Constitution. With many 
other Georgians I have proudlj' witnessed in Washington the 
contests and the triumphs of this conspicuous Representative 
from our own State. Recalling the old hi.storic names of Geor- 
gia — recalling the daj-s when Berrien charmed the Senate with 
his pellucid speech, when Toombs in torrents of eloquence stirred 
the House, when Stephens, like a river, made glad with limpid 
logic the hearts of his coimtr3'men, when Cobb, illustrious 
from his youth, held the Speaker's gavel, and on to Hill the 
superb, Brown the wise, and Colquitt the tribune, and others 
who like these requited the State with fadeless luster for the 
honors she had conferred on them — I say, recalling these his- 
toric men, I am not loath to place among them the name and 
fame of the statesman whose loss from the national councils 
we so sadly deplore. 

I will \-enture to say that no more magnificent display of 
political self-denial ever occurred in the lives of aspiring men 
than that which shines out in splendor like the noonday sun in 
one well-known event of Mr. Crisp's political life. I refer, of 
course, to the occasion when he put aside the Senatorial toga 
proffered him hy Governor Northen on the death of the lamented 
Senator Colquitt. I will not try your patience nor part)' fealty 
by asking what you would have done. Let us imagine that 
others would have acted as he did, and yet his act remains 
luiparalleled by any similar instance. Consider that the office 
of Georgia Senator was the shining goal of his just aspirations; 
that in the judgment of the governor he was the proper recip- 
ient of the great trust; that the popular mind coincided with 
the governor's views; that the tide in politics was turning 
against his partj- and would sweep him from the Speakership, 
and that to lose the Senator's place then might cause its loss to 
him forever; consider this situation, and a view of his declina- 
tion of the office of Senator will glow upon your admiration as 



Address of Mr. Bart felt. 157 

a sunlit summit of fealty to official trust and party principles 
whose height will not be often climbed by mortal man. 

But he lived to see his course justified. The people of the 
State kept him in mind. By an unusual popular vote they 
had this year requested the legislature to make him the State's 
ambassador in the United States Senate, and their will would 
have been performed a few days from this sad date when he lies 
before us wrapped in the slumbers of death. Once by his own 
act, once by the act of God, the Senatorial crown has been put 
aside. We are glad he etched into his enduring fame the self- 
denial which so much exalted his character; we are glad he 
lived to know that the high trust had been given him by the 
people of his beloved State; and since he has been deprived by 
the just will of God of the high position, we will lay the 
unworn Senatorial robe at the base of his monument and write 
his great name among those of the patriotic statesmen of our 
country. 

I can not justly omit that eventful period of four years in 
which, as a young \'irginia soldier, he espoused the cause and 
bravely fought the battles of the Confederate war. \\'hen 16 
years old, a stripling youth, a boy of handsome form and 
gallant mien, but spirited as a cavalier, he put on the gray 
jacket and offered himself for slaughter. It is just such food 
as war craves, and too often gets. The ' ' flower of the South 
decorated the grim battlefields with their slain bodies and made 
them glorious. Crisp was among the number of that Army of 
Northern Virginia which Lee, Jackson, and Stuart depended on 
for victories which made them an immortal fame. The first 
year brought Manassas, with its unobscured triumph of the 
Southern army. The second year, the "Seven days around 
Richmond, " when Lee rolled McClellan's outspread columns 
hke a scroll back upon the River James. The third year, 
Gettysburg, with its first day of glory and its third day of 
bloody repul.se. The fourth year, the Wilderness series 
of interlapping horrors, centering on the 12th of May, when a 
whole day's titanic wre.stling in garments rolled in blood 
ended with the fraternal foes confronting each other in rifle 
range. Through these scenes, with their intermediate events, 



158 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

all equally momentous our young soldier served with his com- 
rades, terminating his field ser\'ice by his capture in the ' ' bloody 
angle" of the 12th of May. Imprisonment followed, but when 
released in 1865, he turned his steps to Georgia and became 
her loyal, faithful, and honored son. Not once has he claimed 
political reward for this heroic service in the cause of the 
South. He knew that patriotism has no price. The tender of 
life to the state in its peril is only a real tribute of righteous 
sovereignty, and the offering has no place on any pay roll; it 
thrusts no key into the public treasury, and makes no demand 
on the popular ballot. But the record of our comrade is with 
us his highest honor, and his consciousness of patriotic duty 
faithfully done is his highest reward. 

But the State can not take to itself the keenest pangs which 
this public bereavement has caused. L,et it stand aside in its 
open sorrow, made expressive by many honoring testimonials, 
and let it be silent before the poignant grief which wrings the 
heart of the family whose prop and pride, whose crown and 
chief, is gone; whose tender fatherhood is now but sweet poten- 
tial memory. His family life was, after all, his chiefest grace. 
With a loving nature, he lavished his heart's best gifts on her 
whom God gave to him and on the children who grew up under 
his care. If words of consolation could be effectively spoken, we 
would all speak them in sheer pity for her whose heart is broken 
by this blow. But no wine press is for the tramping of many 
feet in concert. She must tread the wine press of her affliction 
alone. There is One only who can come to her whose comfort- 
ing is barred by no ceremony and lacking in no quality. ' ' I will 
not leave you comfortless; I will come to you." And so, if 
words of counsel were needed by these children, they would be 
offered by thousands of friendly tongues. But the counsel is 
not needed. The heritage of a wise father's life is wealth for 
his offspring. By the memory of his words they will direct their 
ways. We therefore commit this stricken household to the God 
who guided their head, and to the memories of his noble life. 
I do not know how to speak further, in the presence of an audi- 
ence who knew him so well, of his personal traits and his pri- 
vate life. I am conscious of repeating your sayings when I would 



Address of Mr. Bartlctt. 159 

describe his genial, hopeful, generous disposition. The smile 
which lighted his face was an issue of his heart. The face itself 
inspired confidence; his social mien won affection; his tongue 
was free from the guilt of detraction; he was kind in speech 
even when he spoke of his adversaries. Genuine charity had 
its home in his heart and directed his hand to help the weak and 
the poor. The masterpiece of Paul's pen, as recorded in the 
thirteenth chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians, was his 
most favorite studJ^ His nearest neighbors esteemed and loved 
him, his friends trusted him, his political opponents respected 
him. 

In early manhood he embraced the faith taught in the 
vScriptures, united with the church, loved the brethren in its 
connnunion, and died in the hope which his religion inspired. 
Separated now from all that delighted or tried him on earth, he 
is gone to that mysterious sphere where duty to God will be 
done in perfection and the joy of the ser\-ice will be the heavenly 
rewards. 

We ma J' suffer ourselves to be counseled even by death. 
Meet it we must; meet it daringly we may; meet it reverently 
we should, for it is designed to be but the priest in the black 
gown sent to conduct us to the Prince of Life Eternal. 

The last object that man beholds on earth is not the state 
and its officials; not the church and its ministers; not the family 
of loved ones, and not friends in tears; but the last Being alone 
with man on earth is Almighty God. In the article of death, 
after every mortal citadel has been stormed, the eyes of the 
unassailable soul turns from the delightful scenes as well as 
from the ghastly horrors of Time to look with clairvoyant power 
and boundless intere.st upon the serene eternity of infinite things. 
In that moment of an indescribable crisis the alone soul looks 
before it springs, and as it looks it encounters the face of God. 
The Almighty God! The immortal soul! Face to face! Does 
the soul reflect the image and likeness of Him into whose face 
it looks? That is life's crucial que.stion. Blessed in such a 
crisis are the pure in heart. 

In the crucible of every human career, after all fires have 
burned down and the vessel is cold, there should remain at last 



i6o Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

refined and prepared for eternal use an immortal soul which 
serenely reflects in character the face of God. 

It is well for us who are here, and who know each other's 
natures well, to understand that in our inmost unexpressed 
thought we believe there is something better than the poor 

prizes for which we are all contending. 

The question being taken on the resolutions, they were 

unanimously agreed to, and in accordance therewith (at 5 

o'clock and 55 minutes p. m.) the House adjourned. 



Proceedings in the Senate. 

January i8, 1897. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. 
Chapell, one of its clerks, communicated to the Senate the 
intelligence of the death of Charles F. Crisp, late a mem- 
ber of the House from the State of Georgia, and trans- 
mitted the resolutions of the House thereon. 

Mr. Gordon. Mr. President, I desire to give notice that 
on Thursday next, at 3 o'clock p. m., I shall ask the Senate 
to suspend business to receive resolutions upon the subject 
to which the message from the House of Representatives 
relates, and to liear some remarks in connection therewith. 
H. Doc. 255 II 161 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 

January 25, 1897. 

The \'ice-President laid before the Senate the resolutions 
of the House of Representatives, and they were read. 

Mr. Gordon. IVIr. President, I submit the resolutions 
which I send to the desk. 

The resolutions were read, as follows: 

Resolved, That the business of the Senate be now suspended, 
that opportunit}' ma}- be given for tributes to the memory of 
the Hon. Charles F. Crisp, late a Representative from the 
State of Georgia. 

Resolved, That as a further tribute to his memor}- and in 
recognition of his distinguished ability as a public .sen'ant, the 
Senate, at the conclusion of these memorial ceremonies, shall 
stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions 
to the House of Representatives; and 

Resolved, That the Secretar>- be instructed to communicate a 
copy of these resolutions to the family of the deceased. 

The Vice-President. The resolutions are before the 

Senate. 

163 



164 Life and Cliaracter of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Gordon. 

Mr. Gordon. Mr. President, during the last session of 
Congress, and near its close, I met on this floor for the last 
time the great Georgian in whose honor we speak, and 
whose death an appreciative people so sincerely mourn. 
Were it permissible to refer to the purpose which brought 
him from the other end of the Capitol, it would reveal, as 
his every act, public and private, revealed, the innate 
nobility of the man. 

Charles Frederick Crisp was born in England, but 
was transferred before his first anniversary to his future 
home in southwest Georgia. Richly endowed with native 
abilities and notably with those attributes of character so 
quickly and infallibly discerned by the open-hearted peo- 
ple of that section, in his early manhood he cominanded 
their respect and enlisted their support. In a district 
where competition was an impassable barrier against medi- 
ocrity, he rose steadily and rapidly in their esteem and 
confidence until he held without a rival the supreme place 
in their affections. 

Mr. President, if it be true that our temperament and 
sensibilities and character are permanently affected by the 
scenes amid which we are reared, this fact would in some 
measure explain the strikingly attractive characteristics of 
our deceased friend. His youthful imagination, his gentle 
nature, receptive and impressible, received their earliest 
touches and strongest tints from the peculiar civilization, 
the sunlight, and soft air of that genial clime. His child- 
hood was passed in a locality where an unaffected cordiality 
was the genius of social life, where daily associations were 



Address of Mr. Gordon. 165 

elevating and refining, and where all natnre tended to 
soften the heart and lift the soul— where home was the 
synonym of hospitality, and where every open field, made 
beautiful by the white, the yellow, and the crimson cotton 
blooms, was rimmed by majestic pines, whose weird music, 
like the distant murmur of the sea, tranquillized the spirit 
and turned the thoughts to God. 

He was soldier, lawyer, solicitor, judge, national legisla- 
tor, and Speaker of the House of Representatives. In all 
these positions of responsibility and trust, in the holier 
relations of Christian, husband, and father, through all the 
stages of a great career, in all the activities of life, he was 
brave, unselfish, strong, and pure. English by birth and 
blood, he was American in thought, sentiment, and pur- 
pose — in every throb of his brain and fiber of his being. 

The achievements of his maturer \ears were but the 
fulfillment of his early promise. The courage and conse- 
cration of the youthful soldier were but the prophecies of 
the career and crown of the illustrious statesman. 

At the age of 16 he won a commission in the Confederate 
Army under "Stonewall" Jackson. He was with that 
phenomenal soldier when he fell in the Wilderness. He 
marched with him, fought under him, felt the power of his 
majestic presence, and caught inspiration from his dazzling 
o-enius and from that inflexible Christian faith and fortitude 
which are better than genius. Beardless boy as he was, 
Mr. Crisp met the hardships and dangers of the field with 
the nerve of a veteran, and endured the privations of prison 
with the patience of a philosopher. 

Mr. President, a character so symmetrical and complete 
as Mr. Crisp's deser\'es to be studied and imitated. Called 
to an unusual number of positions, he was eflicient in all, 



1 66 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

and in many excelled. Doubtless this very diversity in his 
active life, like exercises in training schools for the develop- 
ment of complete physical manhood, was a source of strength 
in his mental and moral equipment. 

As a soldier, he learned obedience to constituted authority, 
the necessity of promptness, the value and power of organ- 
ized effort. 

As a lawyer, he was taught the efficacy of analysis and of 
that close, clear, and forceful style of reasoning from premise 
to conclusion which constitute the strength and charm of 
his public utterances. 

As State's attorney, it was his duty to analyze and de- 
nounce crime and to bring the perpetrators to punishment, 
and he discharged that duty with absolute fidelity and 
marked ability. 

As judge, he was charged with the high function of de- 
claring the law protecting the citizen's rights, his property, 
his life, and his liberty, and no man ever met these grave 
obligations more conscientiously and bravely. The judicial 
ermine never rested upon worthier shoulders, nor was it 
ever kept whiter or more immaculate. 

As member of the National Congress, he was confronted 
by the gravest problems of government, and he supported 
or antagonized measures with an eye single to the welfare 
of the people. 

As Speaker, he had placed in his hands a power greater 
in many important particulars than that intrusted to the 
President, and he wielded it, in the judgment of political 
friend and opponent, with an ability rarely equaled and a 
courtesy and an impartiality never surpassed. 

As professing Christian, he assumed obligations to the 
Christian Church and to its Divine Founder and Head 
•which he never disowned and never dishonored. 



Address of Mr. Gordon. 167 

Islr. President, there remains bnt one other phase of onr 
deceased friend's life of which I wish briefl}- to speak. In 
those stations to which I have already allnded his record was 
far more conspicnons and related itself to a vastly wider 
constitnency. The responsibilities of those pnblic stations, 
so faithfully met, were to his country, to society, and church. 
The honors he won by a great career and a noble life are the 
heritage of the whole American people. But the realm into 
which I now enter, while far more circumscribed, is infinitely 
more sacred than any except the church itself. It is due to 
the occasion, due to my own sense of propriety, to say that 
the curtain is drawn from the sanctuary of my friend's 
domestic life by a reverent hand, and that the delicate task 
is legitimatelv sanctioned; but it is also due to his memory 
and to those whom he loved above honors and held dearer 
than life to say that no home ever lost a nobler head than 
the home of IVIr. Crisp. 

Great and lasting as are the honors he won in the public 
service, sincere and just as are the eulogiums pronounced 
by his associates in Congress, earnest and universal as are 
the benedictions of his people, and precious as will be this 
heritage to the unspeakably bereaved wife and children, yet 
his constant, daily acts of unselfish devotion as husband and 
father are to them the richest and most cherished legacy. 
His unfailing solicitude and tenderness exhibited through- 
out his busy, absorbing career, and singularly manifested in 
the very hour of dissolution, when his tongue was no longer 
capable of utterance, will constitute to this stricken house- 
hold the sweetest and most hallowed memory. 

The life of such a man, Mr. President, is a sermon, a 
psalm, an inspiration. The death of such a man is a 
bereavement to society, to the vState, to the Republic. Both 
his life and his death to those of us who ser\-ed with him 



i68 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

and who now survive him are full of encouragement and at 
the same time of warning — of encouragement to virtuous 
living in the discharge of duty, and of solemn warning to 
be readv for the inexorable summons of the mute messenger, 
who will come we know not how nor when, but will come 
surely and come to all. 

Standing in the gloom of this national loss, the radiance 
of the highway he trod becomes the more plainly visible. 
From its opening to its close his career was one of unbroken 
success. From year to year, from station to station, from 
one official height to another still higher, his shining 
course was a constant, continuing ascent, with no blemish 
to mar, no stain to dim its luster. Holding the great office 
of Speaker, he declined a seat in this Chamber tendered him 
by the governor of his State. Though laudably ambitious 
to represent Georgia in this august body, he turned his back 
on ambition at the call of duty, whose every command was 
to him an imperative fiat. He died with the echoes of his 
last political victory still ringing in his ears. He died near 
the convening of the legislature which, in obedience to the 
formally expressed and emphatic popular will, would have 
sent him triumphantly to the Senate as a partial recompense 
for his previous self-abnegation. 

Providence denied him the coveted seat in this Chamber, 
but called him, as we confidently hope and believe, to an 
infinitely more exalted station in the invisible, everlasting 
convocation of the just. 



Address of Mr. Gallinger. 169 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Gallinger. 

Mr. Gallinger. Mr. President, in response to the request 
of the distinguished senior vSenator from Georgia, whose 
eloquent and touching words of eulogy have charmed our 
ears to-day, I will very briefly pay tribute to the great Geor- 
o-ian, who.se virtues and accomplishments are matters of 
historv. It was my privilege to serve with Ch.\rles Fred- 
erick Crisp during the Forty-ninth and Fiftieth Con- 
gresses, and it is an exceedingly pleasant memory that we 
were friends as well as associates during those four eventful 
years. Mr. Crisp had not then risen to the high eminence 
as an orator and parliamentarian that he achieved in later 
years, but even then, almost at the threshold of his Con- 
gressional career, he impressed himself upon the House as 
a man of marvelous gifts and commanding powers. I recall 
more than one instance when he surprised his associates 
by an exhibition of tact, ability, and skill in the manage- 
ment of legislation, while his occasional outbursts of fervid 
oratorv are not forgotten by his fellow-members. At limes 
Mr. Crisp was intensely partisan, as all strong men are, but 
he was always courteous and usually fair. The rancor of 
debate left no scars on his tender mind, and the turbulent 
waters of party strife did not soil the purit>- of his soul. 
Looking back over the years that ha\-e come and gone to 
the time that 1 passed with Mr. Crisp at the close of the 
Fiftieth Congress, my lieart goes out to him even as it did 
when we daily met. His kindly words are remembered, 
and his strong and pervading personality is vividh' and 
tenderly recalled. I'.ut tlie good friend, the courtly gentle- 
man, the intellectual giant is no more. .\t the ver\- zenith 



1 70 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

of his fame — the chosen leader of his party associates and 
the idol of his State — he was summoned from earth to the 
great beyond. Mr. Crisp has gone to his reward, to receive 
the plaudit of " Well done, good and faithful servant." 

Mr. President, it is a single blossom that I bring to be 
laid on the casket of my dead friend; but the tribute, 
though brief, is sincere and heartfelt. A man of marx-elous 
powers, grand achievement, and noble purposes has passed 
away. The place he so well filled in the halls of legislation 
is vacant; but his place in the hearts of his family, his 
friends, and his countrymen will forever be bright and 
glorious. Farewell, thou man of strength and grandeur; of 
tenderness and heroism; of mighty achievement and exalted 
purpose. Earth's work is done, life's fitful fever is ended, 
and the joys of a better world are the reward for the faith- 
ful performance of earth's duties and obligations. Farewell 
the true friend, the convincing orator, the great Speaker, a 
fond and tender farewell. 



Address of Mr. Gorman. 171 



Address of Mr, Gorman. 

Mr. Gorman. I\Ir. President, my purpose on the present 
sad occasion is briefly to express my great personal esteem 
and my high admiration for a great leader in the public 
councils of our country-, whose life added luster to American 
character and illustrated the possibilities in American polit- 
ical life. 

It can not be too often noted and emphasized that there 
is no insurmountable bar to preeminence in the politics of 
our country when to personal traits of exalted character 
there are added incorruptible integrity, firm resolution, and 
positive courage. When these high qualities are graced 
with kindliness of disposition, urbanity in intercourse, and 
a high sense of justice and fair dealing toward adversaries, 
we have that truly American character which was illustrated 
in the public life of the late Charles Frederick Crlsp. 

His early schooling was obtained in the camp, upon the 
march, and in the verj- forefront of the battle. It was amid 
the hardships, restraints, and sacrifices incident to four years 
of civil conflict that he laid fast and sure the foundation of 
self-reliance, indomitable resolution, and high purpose, 
which in a few years brought him forward as one qualified 
to lead and to shape the course of political affairs. His 
promotion was rapid. Admitted to the bar in 1866, he was 
raised to the bench in 1877, and from that high position 
was elected to the House of Representatives in 1882. There, 
in committees, on the floor in debate, and in earnest work, 
he so impressed his political associates that in the Fifty- 
second Congress his party elected him Speaker of the House — 
the most exalted position within the gift of the House, and 



172 Life and Character 0/ Charles Frederick Crisp. 

second only to the Presidency in point of power in our 
system of government. 

These accomplished results illustrate not only the high 
character and attainments of Mr. Crisp, but they emphasize 
the possibilities of popular government, whose highest hon- 
ors are at all times open to the free competition of those 
who are worthy to fill them. 

The public life of Mr. Crisp illustrates the truth of the 
remark that "nothing is denied to well-directed labor, and 
nothing is obtained without it." Leadership in the House 
exacts the most constant and assiduous labor from those 
who aspire to its high emprize, and can not be purchased at 
a lesser price. His administration of the duties of the 
Speakership, during periods of intense excitement and 
amid the conflicts of contending interests, left not a sting 
among his party adversaries, nor failed to bring intensest 
satisfaction to his supporters. He was preeminently fair, 
considerate, just, and impartial, and left the well-earned 
reputation of a great Speaker. A like career on this floor 
was frustrated by the rude hand of death immediatel}' after 
the people of Georgia had expressed their purpose to elect 
him to the Senate. 

There must have been in such a career a dominating prin- 
ciple to which thought and action were at all times subordi- 
nated. We shall not improve occasions like this if we fail 
to eliminate the motive and the principle which made the 
public career of Mr. Crisp so worthy of study and so full 
of noble example. He was a partisan in the purest sense 
of that word. He had satisfied his conscience that more 
substantial good, more positive progress was possible to the 
country from the principles, measures, aud organization of 
the political party to which he was attached than was possi- 



Address of Mr. Go7-7nan. 173 

ble from ain- other organization. Hence his advocacy, as 
well as his opposition, was directed at all times to the tri- 
umph before the people of the principles and measures of 
his party. But that partisanship was destitute of every 
unworthy motive, free from all asperity, and unattended 
with epithet, innuendo, or aspersion. Those who differed 
from him listened to his earnest advocacy, confident that it 
was inspired by sincerity and prompted by a high sense of 
duty. If to "party he gave up what was meant for man- 
kind," it was because he identified his party with all that 
was best and safest for the general welfare of the people, 
the progress of the country, and the advancement of her 
civilization. 

By disposition, as well as from conviction, he was a con- 
servative of that form of government and that distribution 
of its functions which under the Federal Constitution can 
alone render permanent the blessings of popular govern- 
ment. At the same time he was a pronounced radical in 
his conviction that all power emanates from the people, and 
that the administration of government can never be safe 
and successful unless it be conformable to the wishes and 
opinions of the people as expressed by their representatives, 
and that the regular, orderly, and authentic expression of 
public opinion was obligatory at all times upon the legisla- 
tive and the executive departments of the Government. 

Such exalted principles qualify and modify partisanship 
into patriotism, and teach the lesson that intensity of advo- 
cacy is at all times compatible with a just consideration for 
the convictions of an adversary. That was the preeminent 
characteristic of the political career of Mr. Crisp. In the 
most excited and embittered contests over measures like 
those for the repeal of the election laws or the different 



174 I-if*^ '^"^ Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

phases of the tariff discussion, he exhibited the highest 
qualities of leadership, but at the same time the fullest 
recoo-nition of the same earnestness of conviction in his 
opponents. 

Without the brilliancy of oratory or the graces of rhetoric, 
his very earnestness and the manifest sincerity of his char- 
acter became persuasive and convincing, and made him a 
natural leader and his party willing and enthusiastic fol- 
lowers. There was in his personality every element which 
made association pleasant and agreeable. With warm- 
hearted geniality he won the affections, while his dignity 
of bearing impressed all who came within its influence. 
But there was no compromise of principle within his nature; 
what conscience approved, expediency could not compro- 
mise. It was that full and complete subordination of 
expediency to principle that carried into the Speakership 
the integrity of the judge and clothed the politician with 
the ermine of justice. 

It was natural that such a character should impress the 
people far beyond the borders of Georgia; hence his popu- 
larity was as widespread as his party, and in every State he 
won the respect and confidence alike of Democrats and 
Republicans. Citizens of every party recognized the 
puritv and sincerity of that "hoi)e" for "our beloved 
country " when uttered by him upon being elected Speaker. 
No review of his public and private character would do 
justice to our departed friend which did not emphasize that 
unselfish devotion to duty which declined the appointment 
to the Senate by the governor of Georgia because he was 
more useful to his party at that time in the House. The 
seat in the Senate was the goal of all his hopes, the crown 
of his ambition. But the opportunity of his life came at 



Address of Mr. Gorman. "175 

a moment when dnty to his party demanded its declension. 
He was equal to the sacrifice, and set aside his personal 
promotion for the good of his party. There is a deep sad- 
ness in the fact that after such unselfish devotion to duty 
death should have robbed him of his reward when tendered 
by the suffrages of the people of that great State of which 
he was a noble citizen and an honored Representative. 

Aly acqtiaintance with him was close and intimate; my 
confidence in his judgment, discretion, and ability was full 
and complete. He measured up to every occasion, and 
never was a flaw or crevice found in that armor of prin- 
ciple, integrity, and zeal for "our beloved country," which 
enveloped him like a "garment of praise." 



176' Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



Address of Mr, Berry. 

Mr. Berry. Mr. President, I met Charles Frederick 
Crisp for the first time when I came here in 1885. He 
was then serving his second term in Congress, and had 
already attracted attention as a man of ability and high 
character. Snbsequently I knew him intimately and knew 
him well. We lived together in the same hotel in this 
city for eight years. During the sessions of Congress I 
saw him daily. I saw him in his associations with his 
family, with members of Congtess, and with numerous 
friends from all sections of the country. That he was a 
man of high character and splendid ability I need not say. 
That he met bravely and was equal to each responsibility 
and that he did his duty faithfully and well to his constit- 
uents and his country is known to all. 

Mr. Crisp was one of the few men in public life of whom 
it could be truly said that he was always equal and never 
superior to any place or station where duty called him to 
go. He rose steadily and continuously in the public esti- 
mation and grew greater year by year as his duties and 
responsibilities increased, and he was more honored and 
loved at the time of his death than at any time before. The 
most prominent and striking traits in his character as they 
appeared to me were his self-poise and remarkable self- 
control, his uniform cheerfulness, his great patience and 
kindliness toward all with whom he came in contact, his 
quick perception, and great power to condense and con- 
vince in argument. I saw him every day and many times 
each day during the exciting and heated contest for 
Speaker in December, 1891. I saw him at the time when 



Address of Mr. Berry. 177 

nian\' of his friends thought he was beaten. I saw him in 
tlie hour of his victory, and no one could detect in his 
manner or bearing the least sign of despondency in the 
one instance or elation in the other. I saw him after 
the contest was over, when the pressure came upon him 
for committee assignments. From early in the morning for 
many days until late at night his rooms overflowed with 
members of the House of Representatives, Senators, and 
many others. He saw and heard all who came, and never 
for one moment did he lose his patience, his cheerfulness, 
or his kindliness of manner. If he felt the criticisms and 
abuse which came from the disappointed — and he did feel 
it, for he told me so long afterwards — he made no sign and 
uttered no complaint, and I think now that it was these 
high and admirable qualities in his character that enabled 
him afterAvards to lead and control his party so absolutely 
in the House of Representatives. Many strong men, many 
great men, have presided over the House of Representa- 
tives; but I think none of them ever surpassed Mr. Crisp 
in his ability to lead, and none ever had more devoted and 
willing followers. That he was a great Speaker and pos- 
sessed qualities that pectiliarly fitted him for the position 
all will admit, but that which made him really great was 
his devotion to dut\- and love of country. 

These were the same qualities in his character that 
caused him when a lad of 16 years of age to march forth 
to battle for his home, his people, and the faith of his 
fathers, and this same devotion to duty aiul love of country 
remained with him in tlie exalted position he afterwards 
obtained. And he was as true and loyal to our common 
country and to the flag of the Republic when presiding 
over the House of Representatives as he had been true and 

H. Doc. 255 12 



ijS Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

loyal to the flag of the South when he upheld it and faced 
death upon the battlefields of Manassas and Spottsylvania. 

The greatest lesson taught by the life of Mr. Crisp is that 
it shows the possibilities of success for the American youth. 
It is the glory of our Republic that the poorest boy in the 
land, if he has the courage to be honest and upright and 
the energy to persevere, may aspire to any place within the 
gift of the American people. 

Mr. Crisp returned from the war in 1865, a youth of 20, 
absolutely without means or influential friends; without the 
advantage of college training; dependent alone upon his 
own resources; and yet at the age of 45 he had served as 
district attorney, judge of the superior court, member of 
Congress, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
and had discharged the duties of all these positions in such 
way as to command the respect of friend and foe. During 
all of his career he never forgot the people of Georgia; 
those with whom he had marched and suffered in time of 
war; those who had been loyal and true to him in every 
ambition of his life. He never believed that he was wiser 
than they; he never sought to secure what is called a na- 
tional reputation by antagonizing or sacrificing the people 
of his State. He was true to them, and they supported him 
with a devotion and unanimity seldom if ever surpassed. 

The last contest he ever made, the last speeches he ever 
delivered, were in a contest within his own party upon a 
great question of party policy, and in this, as in the past, 
he was in full sympathy with and true to the great body of 
his constituents who had so often honored him, and they 
showed their appreciation by giving him an overwhelming 
majority for a seat upon the floor of the Senate of the 
United States. 



Address of Mr. Berry. \ jg 

The last conversation I ever had with him was upon his 
return from that canvass, where he had met the then vSecre- 
tary of the Interior in joint debate. He told me that his 
physician had insisted that he should quit the canvass and 
of his regret for the necessity. He spoke of his failing 
health, the intense pain that he suffered, and that he feared 
it was the beginning of the end. He did not speak of it 
lightly, nor did he speak of it in any gloomy or despondent 
way, but calmly and courageously, as a brave man would 
speak of something that could not be avoided and that he 
was ready to meet without fear, but tliat he hoped might 
be postponed for the sake of those dependent upon him. 

I never saw anyone more devoted to his family than Mr. 
Crisp. During all the years that we lived in the same 
house no one ever heard him speak an unkind or impatient 
word to wife or child. He was the intimate friend of and 
loved by all children; he was deferential to all womanhood 
and courteous to all manhood. He was always a gentleman 
in his manner and deportment; a Southern man in his 
instincts and feelings; a Southern soldier true to that cause 
until its flag was furled forever. He never paraded his serv- 
ices, nor did he ever express regret or offer excuse for the 
course he had pursued. When he laid down his arms and 
pledged his word for future allegiance to this Government, 
he kept his promise in letter and spirit, and when he arose 
to the high position that he afterwards reached, he was as 
true and loyal to the Government of the United States as 
the men whom he had faced in battle. The people of the 
South have much cause to love and honor his memor>-, and 
the people of the entire nation have much cause to be proud 
of such a citizen. 



i8o Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Mills. 

Mr. jMills. Mr. President, there are some reasons which 
have impressed me that I should join the people of Georgia 
and the friends of her distinguished son in paying to his 
memory all the honors which the living can pay to the dead. 
The remains of his father and mother have for many years 
been sleeping in the warm and generous bosom of Texas. 
Side by side with her own children, Texas has seen that 
their graves are kept green. There are still living in Texas 
those who knew intimately the father and mother and who 
cherish their memories, and who knew the son in his young 
manhood, whose name in after years became a household 
word around all their firesides. If there were no other 
considerations which moved me, this would constrain me 
to go with the people of Georgia and drop a flower for 
Texas in the grave of Georgia's distinguished son. But 
there are other considerations which to my mind make it 
appropriate for me to speak of him. During the great civil 
war — the greatest in the annals of mankind — he and I were 
soldiers on the same side. We fought with those who lost. 
He served with the army which defended Virginia; I with 
the army which defended Georgia. We both passed through 
all the vicissitudes incident to the life of a soldier. One 
by one the old gray-jackets are passing away. Even those 
who, like him, entered the service at i6 come fewer and 
fewer to the annual reunions. During the last summer I 
went to a reunion of Confedarate soldiers in a county in 
Texas from which I had a company in my regiment num- 
bering more than a hundred. Not many returned from 
the bloody fields of Tennessee and Georgia, and of those 



20C 



Address of Mr. Mills. i8i 

who did return there was not one present to call the roll. 
As a comrade in arms, I would come to his bier and help 
his loved ones lower him to that last sleep from which onl\- 
the reveille of Heaven shall awake him. 

lu that fearful contest it was my fortune to be three 
times severely wounded, two of them on the same day. I 
was sent from the field to the hospital at Lagrange, Ga., 
where I received from the mothers, wives, and daughters 
of Georgia soldiers the kindest care and the tenderest nurs- 
ing, without which I should be sleeping to-day in the 
Confederate cemetery at Lagrange. I remember how like 
angels they hovered about our rude cots, and while pour- 
ing balm into our wounds, they poured consolation into 
our ears and hope into our hearts. I remember how noise- 
lessly they passed from cot to cot, watching the life struggle 
of the torn and lacerated soldiers, ever ready with hand and 
heart to help the sinking pulse to strike back toward life, 
and the lusterless eye to relume and burn again with life's 
brilliancy. Lingering long after the sun had gone, folding 
tenderly the winding sheet around those appointed to die, 
and administering the opiate prescribed by the surgeon to 
soothe the suffering to sleep, they bade all good night with 
lips and eyes burdened with prayers, and hied them to their 
homes. At early dawn their footsteps were heard again at 
our bedsides, to go over and over again the labors which 
their brave and patriotic hearts had made a labor of love. 
These are memories which are indelibly stamped upon my 
brain. How could I ever forget the people of Georgia ! 

I come now in this hour of grief, when the hand of the 
Reaper has cut down a son whom she honored and loved, 
and one who loved and honored her, and take my place 
with her in rendering to his memor)- every tribute which 



"■. y 



182 Life and Character 0/ Charles Frederick Crisp. 

pride and affection can pay to the memory of her loved and 
lost son. In life he served her faithfully and well ; he 
achieved honors for himself and heaped honors upon a 
noble people whose servant he was. I remember when he 
came a Representative to the Forty-eighth Congress. He 
had been a lawyer of prominence at the bar of his vState. 
From that he rose to the bench. He was equipped with 
the knowledge and accomplishments that such positions 
give to a man of labor. He soon stood among the leading 
members of the House, and easily maintained the place 
which thorough study and preparation had enabled him 
to win. 

The House of Representatives is as much unlike the 
Senate as the storm>- waters of the Atlantic are unlike the 
waveless waters of the Dead Sea. The House is the focus 
of the concentrated power and passion of the people. 
There the popular heart beats with its strongest pulsation. 
There the popular voice speaks with its clearest emphasis. 
It is a field where the people assemble in the galleries and 
look on and are quick to express approbation or disappro- 
bation. They applaud, laugh, shout, and jeer the combat- 
ants. They are severe, merciless critics. The leader who 
puts on the armor of Saul but can not wear it like Saul 
will soon discover his mistake. In the House the party 
leader must be ready for battle at any moment, for he 
knows not at what moment his forces may be assailed. 
He stands in the arena of combat, and to command the 
confidence of his followers he must be able to give and 
take the blows of battle in such a way as to retain the 
approval and affection of his comrades. This is the ordeal 
through which all leaders of the House have passed and 
must continue to pass. In this ordeal Charles Fred- 



Address of Mr. Mills. 183 

ERICK Crisp bore himself well, and continually won his 
way toward the top. In the Fiftieth Congress John G. 
Carlisle, of Kentucky, was elected Speaker. His seat as a 
member of the House was contested. He very properly 
declined to appoint the Committee on Elections, because he 
could not with propriety appoint the judges who were to 
pass upon his own title. The Democratic caucus desig- 
nated several gentlemen who were authorized to select that 
committee and appoint its chairman. I had the honor of 
being the chairman of the committee appointed by the 
caucus. AVhen we met, I proposed the name of Mr. Crisp 
as chairman of the Committee on Elections, and he was 
unanimously chosen. He discharged the duties of that 
exacting and laborious position with conspicuous ability. 

He was a good lawyer, a good student, well informed in 
the rules of parliamentary law, and an able debater. He 
was conciliatory and kind in his disposition, and grappled 
his friends to him with hooks of steel. In the Fifty-second 
Congress he was elected Speaker of the House, and so dis- 
charged the duties of that high station that he was reelected 
as long as his party was in power. So strong was his hold 
upon the affections of the people of Georgia that they had 
designated him as a member of this body, and had he lived 
until the 4th of March next he would have taken his seat 
here ; .but on the 23d day of October, 1896, "God's finger 
touched him, and he slept." There is now nothing left us 
but to bow with resignation to the decree which sooner or 
later will come to us all. Peace to his ashes! 



184 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



ADDRESS OF Mr. Carter. 

Mr. Carter. Mr. President, on my appearance in the 
Chamber this morning the eminent senior Senator from 
Georgia [Mr. Gordon] kindly accorded me the privilege of 
addressing the Senate briefly on the character and services 
of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

When I first became acquainted with Mr. Crisp he was 
in the prime of life. We stood together before the Speaker's 
desk and took the oath of oflice at the same time as mem- 
bers of the Fifty-first Congress. My service was then 
beginning. He had to his credit six years of honorable and 
distinguished service in that body. He was an accom- 
plished parliamentarian and a veritable legislative gladiator. 
He was a modest, unassuming man. 

In the stormy scenes of that memorable Congress he was 
a constant and forcible but not a nois)- participant. With- 
out boisterous demonstration as a representative of his 
party views, he resisted the parliamentary reforms proposed 
by the opposition with a skill which commanded the respect 
of his opponents and the afifectionate admiration of his party 
associates. 

I can recall him now as a calm, self-reliant debater, rising 
in the n:idst of the excited Representatives to present and 
support his convictions concerning the moving cause of the 
existing commotion. His self-control became contagious, 
and agitated members quickly became attentive listeners. 
His career in that Congress gave notice to the countrj' that 
in an>- parliamentary emergency liable to arise in the history 
of the Government j\Ir. Crisp would prove one of the most 
competent and thoroughly reliable of American statesmen. 



Address of Mr. Carter. 185 

The Speakership of the next House of Representatives 
was accorded him by his party associates in recognition of 
the eminent ability displayed by him in the course of his 
service in the House. While his partisanship goes unques- 
tioned, we observed with intensified regard the moral cour- 
age which impelled him to adopt \ie\vs he had previously 
opposed when those views became confirmed and approved 
in the severe test of parliamentary experience. 

It was as a new member of the House of Repi'esentati\es 
that my first impressions of this great man were formed. 
He was a generous man; he was a just man; he was all 
that is embodied in the phrase so often applied to him — a 
fair-minded man. To the new member of the House he 
extended the hand of cordial good-fellowship and welcome. 
His great experience and logical mind always stood at the 
ready disposal of the new member. It is the recollection 
of his many acts of considerate kindness to which I ascribe 
the affectionate regard in which his memory is held. While 
others in studied phrase analyze his character and the les- 
sons of his life, I gratefully avail myself of the sad privilege 
of recognizing his early and unfailing courtesv to me by 
placing the tribute of m>- humble praise upon his honored 
"■rave. 



i86 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp,. 



Address of Mr. Daniel, 

Mr. Daniel. Mr. President, a noble character has disap- 
peared from the conspicuous scenes of American public 
life — a man who had the good will and the confidence of 
all who knew him, and the affection of all who knew him 
well. 

The death of Ch.\rles Frederick Crisp is a great 
national loss. To the people of his own State it is a poign- 
ant affliction, and to the many friends whom he made 
in his career in the capital city of the United States 
it is a source of deep personal grief A number of those 
who knew him and associated with him in the House of 
Representatives and in the conferences and consultations of 
our public affairs have analyzed the peculiar features of his 
mind and have painted those virtues which the public had 
thoroughly realized that he possessed. I shall not attempt, 
Mr. President, to do more for my part than to allude to a 
few of the conspicuous characteristics of Mr. Crisp and to 
express my own profound sympathy with those upon whom 
his death has so heavily fallen. 

I think it may be said of him that no man has taken so 
conspicuous a position in public life, has exercised such 
great responsibility, has been thrown in conflict with such 
great antagonisms and such influential interests, who at the 
same time has so conducted himself as to achieve more 
thoroughly the good will of all who came in contact with 
him. 

Mr. Crisp was a man of solid and substantial character 
and of useful gifts. That character was always thrown as 
a great weight upon the side which he deemed to be right, 
and those gifts were always employed in patriotic interests. 



Address of Mr. Daniel. 1S7 

It may be truly said of Mr. Crisp tliat lie was a patriot. 
There was nothing small, nothing mean, nothing narrow, 
nothing sectional, in any offensive sense, in the characteris- 
tics or in the history of the man. He was a manly man, a 
man of broad, humane, and catholic sympathies, of high 
and noble purposes, and he never thought of, much less did 
he ever condescend to, questionable methods or offensive 
methods in achieving his purposes. 

I think that the great weight which Mr. Crisp acquired 
in the House of Representatives was due to the equilibrium 
of his temperament and to the well-ordered adjustment of 
his fine faculties. His mental and moral virtues were well 
fused; they made a compact and wholesome unit. Every- 
one always knew where he stood; everyone felt the good 
influence of his presence, of his association, and of his 
coiinsel. 

I had much in common with Air. Crisp in the courses of 
our varied lives. We entered the army of the Confederate 
States in the same command, in that immortal band known 
as "the Stonewall Brigade," which made its debut in his- 
tory on the first field of Manassas, and bore its shredded battle 
flags in the last conflict at Appomattox. He entered that 
brigade when a boy of 16, as a member of the Tenth Vir- 
ginia Infantry. He acquired the reputation among his 
comrades of being a good soldier. He never seemed to 
desire the honors or shows of military distinction, but he 
became an officer before he was yet a man. He was con- 
tent, as were the great body of patriots all over this land 
who gave themselves to a cause and to a flag, to do his duty 
as he thought it should be done, and was content that it 
had been done. 

Mr. Crisp was a man who had in him the elements of 
inevitable success. He was steady of purpose. When he 



1 88 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

set his head in any direction, he persevered and continued 
to persevere in that direction. Concentration is the secret 
of success. Mr. Crisp possessed concentration. He did not 
seek many things at once. He took in hand the thing that 
was before him; he did it well, and he was always called 
up higher because he had done well that which went before. 
It has been well said, Mr. President, by a fine writer, that 
self-control is the highest form of self-assertion. Mr. Crisp 
possessed self-control. He was well-poised; he was always 
self-possessed. Whatever of ability and of talent he pos- 
sessed were always ready and available. His judgment was 
almost always a wise judgment. He was a man well fitted 
to elevate and honor the bench. He was judicial in bear- 
ing, judicious in decision. He was a good man. His heart 
was in the right place. His instincts made him do right 
without reflection in those moments of exigency which give 
little time for reflection. His studious disposition made 
him find the right when it was involved in perplexities 
and complications. 

The House of Representatives, ]\Ir. President, is a forum 
which puts to sternest tests the qualities of men in public 
life. Of all the theaters in which political ambition and 
political usefulness are exercised it is the most exacting. 
In the House of Representatives, among the many brilliant 
men who represent the different sections of this great and 
diversified country, there is soon an evolution to the front 
of the strong men. We often see there men of great 
scholastic ability making little impression upon the affairs 
of the country. We see men of brilliant oratorical qualifi- 
cations and forensic talents making little headway in influ- 
ence, and reaching but small consummations. It is because 
there is necessary to success in that body a peculiar combi- 



Address of Mr. Daniel. 189 

natiou of talents, a mixture of tact, judgment, courage, 
skill, abilit}' to speak, and ability to keep silent — a certain 
practical common sense withal, a certain indefinable and 
predominant quality which we can never exactly estimate, 
which we can never thoroughly analyze, which we can 
never paint and fully describe, but which is ere long dis- 
covered to be in one man or another when large assemblies 
are brought together. We all know that Mr. Crisp was 
well versed in parliamentary law, able in debate, often- 
times powerful and effective in oratory. We all know that 
he was fair-minded, discreet, and capable in counsel. But, 
however we attempt to analyze his qualities and qualifica- 
tions, we all realize that he had such as made men honor 
and follow him. 

I had the pleasure of first making the acquaintance of I\Ir. 
Cri.sp in the Forty-ninth Congress. He was then a young 
member, gathering his earlier experiences of Congressional 
life. He never seemed to seek position of conspicuous dis- 
tinction. He never made a speech for the mere sake of 
making it. He never showed any desire for display or effect 
or applause in the speeches which he did make ; but when 
he did speak, he spoke at the proper time, he .said the right 
thing, and in effect his services had already at that early 
stage in his career marked him as a man who would lead 
and influence and guide men, and would make his mark in 
the affairs with which he was associated in conducting. Year 
by year he became more prominent. He came in collision 
with the ablest minds in American politics. It is enough 
to say that he always held his own. He was thrown in most 
fierce antagonism with the great interests which influence 
legislation and in hot conflict upon the most parti.san ques- 
tions which have ever engaged the minds of the American 



190 Life a)id Cliaractcr of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

people. He came to the front rank of the disputants. In 
his addresses he always commanded attention. In his posi- 
tions he alwa3S attracted support. In his decisions as 
Speaker and on the policies he pursued he made but few 
mistakes. In his conduct of party affairs he always showed 
that tact and wisdom which achieve results, or come as near 
achieving results as it is possible. Though, sir, he was in 
the heat of battle for many years, although he was thrown 
in antagonism with the ablest minds, although he was often 
suddenly precipitated into debate with the keenest and 
subtlest intellects, although day after day he had to show 
preference between one man and another or make sharp and 
far-reaching decisions, the fact speaks that at the end of that 
career all who were associated with him, whether in sym- 
pathy or conflict, whether in concurrence or disagreement — 
all say, "This was an honorable champion; this was a just 
man; this was a true patriot; this was a noble and useful 
character ; this was a good citizen." 

All bowed their heads as the cortege which bore his 
remains passed by, and alli would fain throw a flower upon 
his tomb. 

I knew ^Ir. Crisp in other capacities than that of legis- 
lator. I had the privilege of enjoying his personal friend- 
ship, of meeting him often in genial and social scenes. 
This but attracted me the more to him. 

Mr. Crisp was a man of fine manners and address, natural 
and unaffected. He had the instinctive courtesy which is 
not that of mannerism, but which is born in the heart and 
which expresses itself in the many small and nameless 
kindnesses which make life worth living. He was a genial 
and kind companion; he was a true friend; and though, 
sir, there are many who have decorated his name with more 



Address of Mr. Daniel. 191 

fitting' praise than n\\ poor words convey, there are none 
here wh.o nionrii him more deeply or who will more sin- 
cerely cherish his memory. 

Georgia has sent to both Houses of Congress many able 
and brilliant men. Among them the name and fame of 
Mr. Crisp will always shine with a calm and stead\- luster. 



192 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 



ADDRESS OF Mr, Bacon. 

]\Ir. Bacon. Mr. President, the many touching, beau- 
tiful, and appropriate eulogies which have been paid to the 
memory of our friend both in the House and in the Senate 
leave little need that I should attempt to add anything, 
however brief I may be pardoned, however, for a few 
words before asking for the adoption of the resolutions 
submitted by my colleague. 

It is a great thing for one to be an acknowledged leader 
among men. It is still greater for one to be recognized by 
voluntary' acclaim as the leader among a concourse of those 
who are themselves leaders. But greater than this high 
distinction is the honor, when such a one falls on that 
high arena in the thick of the combat, that the strife 
ceases and that there are offered by Representatives and 
Senators of all parties and sections — as well those who 
have contended with him as opponents as these who have 
striven with him as allies — such tributes to his character 
and achievements as in the anticipation would fill the 
measure of any man's ambition. 

Most tenderly will these words of affection and praise be 
cherished by those of his own blood, by the host of men 
knit to him by the ties of friendship, and by the State 
which has most lovingly and proudly enrolled his name 
upon the list of her most distinguished sons. 

Mr. President, I need not say more of those qualities 
and achievements which have won for him the praise and 
admiration not only of his associates, but also of the 
nation; and yet I can not forbear to say that as I have 
listened in the House and Senate to the words which 



Address of Mr. Bacon. 193 

have been uttered during the consideration of tliese resolu- 
tions the thought has come to me that if it were mine to 
write his epitaph in the portrayal of his personal character, 
I would inscribe but the single line, "All men loved him." 

Twice, IMr. President, within less than three years has the 
State of Georgia stood a mourner within this Chamber 
lamenting the loss of a cherished son who held her com- 
mission in the National Congress. The first of these had 
been for nearly twelve years an honored member of this 
body. He to whom we to-day do honor, while never a Sen- 
ator, occupied a peculiar relation to the Senate. As has 
been told, he was once appointed a Senator, but duty, whose 
voice to him was a command, denied him entrance here; 
again, two years later, at the time when he was stricken 
down as with a lightning shaft, his foot was on the very 
threshold of this Chamber. Already chosen by the well- 
nigh unanimous voice of the people expressed through a 
primary election, with no opposition to his election by the 
legislature which was to assemble within a week, the arm 
of the State was already outstretched to place within his 
hand her commission to him as one of her ambassadors to 
this high council of the representatives of States. 

From one point of view there was never a sadder picture 

of disappointed hope. The dream, the ambition of his life, 

was to be a Senator of the United States. Neither in public 

nor in private had he disguised its avowal. From boyhood 

he had set his gaze upon it, and through all his manhood it 

was the goal of his desire. All undaunted by obstacles, he 

strove to reach it. Step by step for thirty years, unwearied, 

never failing in resolve, always steadfast in endeavor, he 

had climbed the steep ascent, he had scaled the rugged cliffs, 

he had gained the dizzy height where shone the prize, when 

in a moment the sun of his life went out at noonday! 
H. Doc. 255 13 



194 L.ifa c-nd Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

The vainness of regret stifles not the tender emotion which 
this contemplation luust inspire in every s)'mpathetic heart. 
When the full span of life has been accomplished, when the 
life work to which one has set his hand has in his labor 
found full fruition, still the death of even such a one, the 
end of a career where no more remains for achievement, 
nevertheless brings inevitable sorrow to all who have the 
instinct of life and who shrink back from the mystery of 
death. But deeper must be the emotion, more tragic in its 
nature the catastrophe, when in mid career one falls in life, 
as fell in estate the great cardinal, while he — 

Bears his lilushing honors thick upon him. 

Mr. President, it is sad to see even the shrunken and 
withered giant trunk sway in the blast and fall before the 
fury of the storm ; but when in the peaceful sunshine, when 
no winds blow, when no cloud is in the sky, all suddenly 
falls the green and sturdy oak, we start back shocked and 
dismayed. 

Humanity can not suppress its moan in the presence of 
death. Around it there is such impenetrable mystery ; 
between the living and the dead there is such an unspeak- 
able, fathomless, unmeasured gulf Beside the bier there 
is only remembrance of the great change, the life that has 
gone from among us and can never return. In the presence 
of the physical ruin the heart echoes the wail of Anton}- by 
the dead body of Caesar: 

Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, 
Shrunk to this little measure ? 

And yet, sir, sad as is this contemplation, wrung and torn 
as are the hearts of those who mourn his loss, who can view 
the life of our departed friend, so rounded and so symmet- 



Address of Mr. Bacon. 195 

rical, so steady in its upward progress, so full and overflow- 
ing in its fruition, and not say — it may be through blinding 
tears, but still in loving pride — 'tis well? 

And, sir, while I would not dry one tear that is shed for 
him, while I would not suppress one moan that breathes 
out the sorrow of those who mourn for him, Aet I take 
heart in the glad thought that in those things which made 
our friend beloved of all, in those things which made him 
a leader among men, in those things which marked him in 
the nation's view as a great man, in all these things he is 
not dead and can not die. 

More lasting than the marble which will mark his last 
resting place, in the unfading memory of all who knew him 
in life, in the imperishable archives of his State and of this 
great nation, will ever live the enduring record of this good 
and great man. 

.\nd not as a memory only will he live. The teaching of 
Revelation finds its strongest confirmation in the conviction 
of the inner consciousness that the sun of this life does not 
go down into an eternal night. Who is there of the most 
skeptical who believes that the soul and the intellect which 
looked out from the eyes of Ch.^^rles Frederick Crisp, 
and beamed in his countenance and inspired his lips, have 
peri.shed with the body that we have tenderly laid away 
from our sight? There is that within that tells us it 
can not be. When or how we know not, but the undvine 
yearnings for the loved ones gone before tell us that we 
shall meet again. 

In the drama of Ion, the young heathen Greek, forewarned 
b)- the Oracles of impending death by violence, comes to 
part with the maiden he love.s. She asks him, "Shall we 
meet again?" He replies that he has asked that dread 



196 Life and Character of Charles Frederick Crisp. 

question of the hills that look eternal; of the streams that 
flow on forever; of the stars amid whose azure fields his 
spirit had walked in glor\'. To that question they all had 
been dumb. "But now," headds, "while thus I gaze upon 
thy living face, I feel the love that kindles through its 
beauty can never wholly perish. We shall meet again." 

Mr. President, I ask for the adoption of the pending 
resolutions. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to; and (at 4 
o'clock and 20 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until 
to-morrow (Tuesday), January 26, 1897, at 12 o'clock 
meridian. 



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